Nomura Holdings is considering selling its crypto subsidiary Laser Digital Holdings after losses at the business pushed the Japanese brokerage's European operations into a quarterly deficit, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the company has held talks with potential buyers, including Marex Group, which is evaluating a possible acquisition.
No final decision has been made, and Nomura could instead sell Laser Digital to a different buyer or keep the business.
The talks follow sizable losses at Laser Digital as volatile crypto markets weighed on results, prompting Nomura's management to tighten risk controls. The company had previously acknowledged large swings in crypto earnings after its European operations posted a quarterly loss.
Laser Digital, which was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Zurich, offers institutional crypto trading, asset management and venture capital investments. It forms part of Nomura's wider digital asset strategy alongside tokenization platform Boostry and crypto custody provider Komainu.
Even with the losses, Laser Digital has kept growing its institutional business. It recently obtained a crypto exchange license in Japan and, in May, received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to set up a national trust bank.
The proposed bank would offer custody and administration services for digital assets, tokenized securities and traditional financial assets, pending final regulatory approval.
Marex has also been building out its crypto operations, providing institutional execution, clearing, financing and structured products. In October, it launched a rolling spot crypto product for institutional clients trading over the counter.
The potential sale comes during a prolonged downturn in crypto markets. Bitcoin traded below $74,000 on Wednesday, more than 40% under its peak, while Japan's crypto transaction volume, including margin trading, fell by more than half to ¥17.2 trillion ($108.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, according to industry association data.
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