Nomura is tightening risk controls at its crypto arm, Laser Digital, after crypto-related losses helped shave 9.7% off the bank’s fiscal third‑quarter profit, Bloomberg reports.
At an earnings briefing, Nomura CEO Hiroyuki Moriuchi said the firm has put stricter position-management rules in place at Laser Digital to reduce risk exposure and limit how much crypto market volatility can swing earnings. The move follows a brutal autumn for digital assets: on Oct. 10 — four days after bitcoin peaked at just over $126,200 — a flash crash erased more than $19 billion in leveraged positions in what has been called the industry’s largest deleveraging event. By year-end bitcoin had fallen to roughly $87,000 (about 31% below October’s high) and total crypto market capitalization slipped from around $4.3 trillion to just over $3 trillion, according to Coingecko.
“There is a vague sense of unease about the overall market direction, and that seems to have combined with the surprise on the crypto front to set off selling,” said Hideyasu Ban, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, who characterized the turmoil as likely a short‑term market reaction.
Nomura’s broader results reflected the disruption: net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 fell to $590 million. The decision to scale back crypto risk comes just days after Laser Digital’s Americas division filed a de novo application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank — part of a broader industry push by crypto firms to build regulated asset‑management and custody infrastructure for digital assets.
Analysts will be watching whether tighter controls at Laser Digital calm earnings volatility without curbing the unit’s growth ambitions as Nomura and other traditional financial players deepen their exposure to crypto.
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