Japanese investment bank Nomura is establishing a subsidiary to provide institutions with access to digital assets, according to a report in the FT.
The new unit will have 100 employees by the end of 2023 and offer exposure to cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to the report.
The bank declined CoinDesk's request for comment.
Nomura began trading bitcoin futures and options on the CME with Cumberland DRW last week, joining rivals such as Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) in offering clients access to crypto markets.
Nomura was one of the first banks to get involved in crypto asset custody, joining the Komainu custody joint venture in June 2020 alongside fund manager CoinShares and custody specialist Ledger.
Nomura Research Institute, an economic advisory arm of the bank, has launched a crypto asset index that tracks the Japanese cryptocurrency market in 2020.