Nomura Unveils Bitcoin Adoption Fund for Institutional Investors

Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has recently launched the Bitcoin Adoption Fund, targeted at institutional investors. The fund is a long-only mutual fund based in the Cayman Islands, with the custody of digital assets secured Komainu, a regulated custodian co-founded Nomura, Ledger, and Coinshares.

Sebastien Guglietta, Head of Laser Digital Asset Management, emphasizes the importance of technology in driving global economic growth and the ongoing transformation from analogue to digital. Guglietta, who formerly held roles at Nomura and Brevan Howard, leads the fund.

Laser Digital’s strategy involves three arms: venture capital fund, asset management, and digital asset trading. The firm has already invested in web3, especially focusing on decentralized finance (DeFi). Additionally, it acquired Elysium, a post-trade solution for foreign exchange (FX) and digital assets.

While the cryptocurrency community eagerly anticipates the first authorized Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, institutional investors have already had options to gain exposure to Bitcoin indirectly. Major banks such as Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan have partnered with crypto asset managers NYDIG and Galaxy Digital to offer funds focusing on Bitcoin. NYDIG’s Institutional Bitcoin Fund, for example, manages over $750 million in assets as of January this year. BlackRock also launched a Bitcoin investment trust in 2020.

Moreover, there is the well-known Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which recently faced a discount to its net asset value of almost 50% but has since recovered to a deficit of approximately 20% after winning an SEC lawsuit.

Overall, the launch of Nomura’s Bitcoin Adoption Fund provides another avenue for institutional investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin, tapping into the growing interest in digital asset investments.

Sources:
– Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary unveils Bitcoin Adoption Fund
– Komainu: A regulated custodian co-founded Nomura, Ledger, and Coinshares
– Sebastien Guglietta’s role as Head of Laser Digital Asset Management