The Japanese investment giant Nomura is scaling back its cryptocurrency positions after its digital subsidiary, Laser Digital, contributed to a quarterly loss that has clearly rattled the nerves of the executive suite.
Nomura Trims Risk Following Quarterly Laser Digital Losses
2 February 2026 - 08:30 CET
By Sandmark staff
While the bank remains profitable at a group level, the volatility inherent in onchain markets has prompted a sudden shift toward caution.
During an analyst call on 30 Jan, CEO Kentaro Okuda addressed the ¥10.6bn ($70mn) loss recorded by the business segment containing Laser Digital. While the bank reported overall net income of ¥91.6bn ($584mn), the turbulence of the previous months has forced a rethink. According to the Q3 earnings call transcript, the stumble was driven by market movements and the effect of currency hedges during a period where Bitcoin saw a sharp 21% decline between 1 Nov and 31 Dec.
Risk management takes priority
The bank’s response to the stumble has been to 'tighten control' over its crypto positions. CFO Hiroyuki Moriuchi confirmed that Nomura will reduce the volume of risk within Laser Digital in the short term. This move highlights the precarious nature of institutional crypto ventures. Even with what the bank describes as a 'robust risk management framework' in place, Nomura found itself exposed to long position commitments just as the market soured in October and November.
This retreat comes at a delicate time for Laser Digital’s reputation. The unit had been aggressively expanding, recently announcing plans for a US trust bank to provide custody services and launching a natively tokenized Bitcoin yield fund. These products were intended to lure institutional holders who are traditionally wary of the sector’s wild swings. However, the bank's own struggle with that very volatility may make for a difficult sales pitch to external investors.
Expansion remains the long term goal
Despite the immediate pullback, the leadership maintains that the long term vision remains intact. Moriuchi noted that the bank still wishes to expand this business over time, even as they implement 'precise position management' as a buffer against price swings. It is the corporate equivalent of checking the weather only after getting soaked; the bank is now much more interested in umbrellas than it was during the summer.
If the industry is to achieve the institutional maturity seen in the Strategy playbook, it must survive these periods of contraction without abandoning the field entirely. Nomura is not the first, and certainly will not be the last, traditional firm to discover that onchain assets require a level of stomach for risk that does not always align with quarterly reporting cycles. For now, the bank is choosing caution over bravado, opting for a wait-and-see approach while the market finds its feet.
