Laser Digital, the digital assets arm of Japanese banking giant Nomura, has made a strategic investment in ZIGChain to advance onchain private credit initiatives in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports. The deal, understood to be worth in the single-digit millions, signals growing institutional appetite for bringing traditional credit markets onto the blockchain.
A Push Into Onchain Private Credit
The investment underscores a broader trend of established financial institutions exploring tokenized real-world assets, with private credit emerging as one of the most sought-after categories. By backing ZIGChain, Laser Digital is positioning itself at the intersection of decentralized finance and regulated credit markets in a region that has become increasingly welcoming to crypto ventures.
Private credit—loans made by non-bank lenders to businesses—has ballooned into a multitrillion-dollar market globally. Moving these instruments onchain promises greater transparency, faster settlement, and broader access for investors, features that have attracted blockchain projects and traditional players alike.
Institutional money is no longer watching from the sidelines—it's building the rails for tokenized credit itself.
The UAE as a Crypto Hub
The choice of the UAE as the focus for this initiative is no coincidence. The Gulf nation has cultivated a reputation as a friendly jurisdiction for digital asset firms, offering regulatory clarity and dedicated frameworks that have drawn crypto companies from around the world.
Laser Digital, which operates under Nomura's umbrella, has been steadily expanding its footprint in the digital assets space, making venture investments and building out infrastructure services. Its backing of ZIGChain adds another layer to a strategy centered on bridging conventional finance and emerging blockchain technology.
Key aspects of the deal include:
- A single-digit-million-dollar strategic investment
- A focus on onchain private credit products
- A geographic emphasis on the UAE market
For ZIGChain, the endorsement from a Nomura-affiliated entity lends credibility as it seeks to establish itself in the competitive tokenization landscape. As traditional finance and crypto continue to converge, deals like this one may become an increasingly common blueprint for institutional entry into the sector.