Japanese financial giant Nomura will reduce its crypto risk exposure after its European digital asset subsidiary, Laser Digital Holdings, posted losses. CFO Hiroyuki Moriuchi confirmed the firm’s long-term commitment to crypto remains, but stricter position management is planned following a turbulent third quarter where overseas profits fell 70%.
Japanese banking giant Nomura will reduce its exposure to cryptocurrency, citing a tough market climate and a dip in overseas profits. The firm’s Chief Financial Officer, Hiroyuki Moriuchi, said it would look to cut risk at its European digital asset subsidiary, Laser Digital Holdings, after it posted losses. “The firm will manage its stability through stringent position management over the next few months,” Moriuchi stated.
He added that Nomura‘s commitment to crypto is unchanged and the firm eyes medium-to-long-term expansion for its Switzerland-based subsidiary. The third quarter began just before a major crypto market crash in October. According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin fell from a $126,000 peak on October 6 to around $88,000 by December 31.
In its third-quarter earnings, the company said its crypto and non-crypto European ventures accounted for a $68.5 million loss. The firm’s overseas ventures still posted a $105.3 million profit, but this was a 70% decrease from the same period a year earlier. Nomura‘s overall net income was $590 million, a 9.7% decrease year-over-year.
Part of this decrease was attributed to a $1.8 billion purchase of Macquarie Group’s U.S. and European public asset management business. The company also incurred expenses tied to a stock buyback scheme. Nomura shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped around 6.8% on Monday as markets reacted to the results.
Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Hideyasu Ban told The Japan Times that a vague market unease combined with the crypto surprise to trigger selling. “There is a vague sense of unease about the overall market direction, and that seems to have combined with the surprise on the crypto front to set off selling,” Ban said.
