By
staff writer
March 12th, 2024
Komainu launched by Nomura in partnership with Ledger and CoinShares prides itself as the world’s “first hybrid institutional-grade custodian” with a focus on institutional investors and other corporate parties.
Major Japanese bank Nomura Holdings Inc has entered a partnership with crypto firms including CoinShares and Ledger, to offer cryptocurrency services through a new outfit called Komainu.
The three companies have come together to launch a custody firm to help hold cryptocurrencies for corporate financial institutions. The company was first announced in 2018, with the trio consistently putting the plan together for the outfit. Now that it has launched, the trio will jointly run Komainu. However, CoinShares Co-Founder and Chief Executive Jean-Marie Mognetti will head the company.
Komainu currently prides itself as the world’s “first hybrid institutional-grade custodian” with a focus on institutional investors and other corporate parties.
Speaking during a recent interview, Mognetti explains that Komainu had already been working with some clients even before the launch. Consequently, the company is now open to expanding its client base:
“We have been trialing the platform with a limited number of clients for four to five months and are now launching to new clients.”
Komainu joins many other financial companies that are looking into offering custody services at the moment. The company has received approval from the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Komainu hopes that the authorization could help move custody offerings forward.
Komainu Takes Experience from Nomura
The new custody company will also benefit from a wealth of experience from Nomura and other partners. This experience ranges across sectors, including fund management, banking, and cybersecurity. Komainu hopes that this will give customers some peace of mind about latching on to Komainu, confident that their assets are safe.
Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier also gave his two cents on the advantage of pooling this much experience. According to Gauthier, Komainu offers the level of security that corporate investors require from the crypto sector:
“Institutions are looking for compliance and security when it comes to the custody of digital assets. With cryptocurrencies more prone to vulnerabilities, institutions’ digital assets are weaponized against them without the proper security infrastructure in place. Through our combined experience, we have developed a sophisticated financial and security solution that will be the key institutional partner.”
Komainu’s entrance into the market is right because there is demand. Many institutional investors are still looking for regulated firms that offer crypto custody services.
The companies are looking into the evolution of traditional assets into digitized versions. For example, Several corporate bodies, including Nomura, are working at operating traditional assets on a blockchain. This means that hopefully, there will be stocks, bonds, and other regular assets with digitized versions that can be traded and probably transferred using blockchain technology.
Nomura global chief digital officer Jezri Mohideen has corroborated the move, adding that it improves interest in custody:
“We have been very focused on the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem. For us it was critical that we solve the custody issue.”
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