Nomura Launches Institutional Custody Platform with CoinShares and Ledger

Nomura Holdings, a global investment bank, has made its long-awaited entry into the crypto space, following a long line of financial institutions making the same move.  Per a report published earlier this week, the Japanese financial giant has launched an institutional custody platform to serve the needs of the broader market.

An Unlikely Alliance Aimed at Institutions

The report explained that the service dubbed Koimanu, is a collaborative effort between Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares, and hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger. Koimanu bills itself as the first hybrid institutional-grade custody platform that can effortlessly integrate with legacy FinTech and new technology companies.

Under the leadership of CoinShares chief executive Jean-Marie Mognetti, the platform will primarily serve the needs of institutional investors. It will also be under the oversight of the Jersey Financial Services Commission. In the report, Mognetti explained that they’ve been testing the platform with several clients since the beginning of the year. Following the trials’ success, the partners now feel more confident about making their application more mainstream.

Pascal Gauthier, the chief executive of Ledger, pointed out that many established finance firms have developed a need for tailored custody solutions. In the statement, he explained:

“Institutions are looking for compliance and security when it comes to the custody of digital assets. [without the proper security] institutions’ digital assets are weaponized against them.”

Mognetti addressed a similar trend, explaining that Koimanu would be able to offer financial capabilities and expertise to institutional clients. This way, they can feel more confident about the safety of their assets

Institutional Investors are the New Whales 

The move essentially combines two things that have been particularly trendy topics over the past few months – custody and institutional interest.

Several firms already established their presence in the custody space. Investment manager Fidelity, the Intercontinental Exchange Inc., Coinbase, and much more are just a few names that have been more prominent in the sub-industry, although they mostly all do the same thing; ensure that investors who are afraid concerning the security of their assets can have peace of mind.

As for institutional demand, many industry experts have claimed that these investors hold significant sway in the market. With cryptocurrencies being more profitable by the year and displaying more stability, institutions and large-net0-worth individuals have swooped into the market. In response, companies have fine-tuned their services to corner them.

Koimanu isn’t the only service born out of an interesting alliance to come out recently. Earlier this month, institutional investment platform Bakkt and crypto asset manager Galaxy Digital joined forces to play on each other’s strengths and address several needs of institutional crypto investors.

According to a press release to the effect, the collaboration will see Bakkt pair its Bakkt Warehouse custody service with the Galaxy Digital Trading (GDT) matching engine and trading platform.  Tim Plakas, an executive from Galaxy Digital, explained that both firms had seen an uptick in demand from asset managers looking to access physical Bitcoin. By combining their services, both companies believe that they can offer efficient, safe, and properly-regulated access for their clients.