Share this article
Nomura-Backed Crypto Custody Venture Launches After 2 Years in the Works
CoinShares, Nomura Bank and crypto security firm Ledger have formally launched a digital asset custody business targeting institutional investors.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 8:53 a.m. Published Jun 19, 2020, 8:03 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
After two years of development, one of Japan’s largest investment banks has finally entered the digital asset custody business through a joint venture with two cryptocurrency startups.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Komainu, a venture involving Nomura Holdings, its unit CoinShares and Ledger, officially launched Wednesday. Based in the U.K.’s Jersey Channel Islands, the new business serves as a custodian and provides regulatory compliance and insurance services to institutional investors for their digital asset holdings.
CoinShares CEO and co-founder Jean-Marie Mognetti, who will run Komainu as well, said in a press release the venture will cater to traditional institutional investors such as banks, pension funds and mutual funds that want to enter the digital asset market.
“Komainu has created the first turnkey solution that establishes the trust required by institutions to gain exposure to digital assets,” said Mognetti.
Read more: CoinShares Hires WisdomTree Exec as Company Plans Expansion Outside UK
CoinShares, a digital asset trading platform, announced the venture with Ledger, the blockchain security firm, and Nomura, back in 2018.
Komainu is named after the statues of mythical "lion dogs" that guard the entrances to Japanese Shinto temples. Mognetti claimed the new custodial service offers the same level of security as cold storage solutions (where private keys are kept offline, on a device disconnected from the internet or a piece of paper locked in a safe) while allowing for the speed and user flexibility of online "hot" wallets.
Mognetti said this was made possible by using a “bespoke Ledger-designed solution,” which combines hardware and software applications and is underpinned by a hardware security module (HSM), a physical device that stores and manages digital encryption keys.
Komainu’s platform supports 20 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and XRP. Mognetti said that while Komainu can support most protocols on the technological side, the firm would only take on tokens which satisfy anti-money-laundering requirements and have an identifiable origin. Komainu is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Here's what bitcoin bulls are saying as price remains stuck during global rally
It's about a lot more than "zooming out." Supply overhangs and investor "muscle memory" regarding gold help explain bitcoin's poor absolute and relative performance.
What to know:
- Bitcoin has failed so far to act as an inflation hedge or safe-haven asset, lagging badly behind gold, which has surged amid high inflation, wars, and interest rate uncertainty.
- Crypto advocates argue that bitcoin’s weakness reflects a temporary supply overhang, investor “muscle memory” favoring familiar precious metals and its correlation with risk assets, rather than a collapse in long-term demand.
- Many bitcoin proponents still see BTC as a superior long-term store of value and “digital gold,” predicting that, once traditional hard assets are overbought, capital will rotate into bitcoin, allowing it to “catch up” to gold.
Top Stories
