Nomura, Japan's largest broker, has just announced it intends to create a digital asset division focused on institutional investors, the Financial Times (FT) has reported.
According to the publication, the staff of the new structural unit could reach 100 employees by the end of 2023. The division will focus on cryptocurrencies, DeFi and NFTs.
The new project will be led by Nomura's head of digital assets, Jezri Mohideen, who will initially lead a team of 15 specialists.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
FT has reported Nomura has been studying these plans for around 4 years. The company believes digital assets are a means of diversifying stocks and bonds in investment portfolios.
One of the company's representatives has said:
"If we don’t do this, then it’s going to be more difficult down the line to be competitive. Any asset class at the moment that has discounted cash flow is all under huge stress in an inflationary environment. Many managers will be looking and thinking about potentially allocating towards blockchain technology."