Overview
- Wednesday, Aug. 5, Laser Digital — Nomura Group’s digital‑assets arm — made a strategic investment reported to be in the single‑digit millions and formalized a partnership with UAE Layer1 ZIGChain.
- The companies will co‑develop onchain private‑credit vault products that convert loans into tokenized instruments, with planned Sharia‑compliant versions tailored for Gulf markets.
- Laser Digital will supply product structuring, institutional risk frameworks, and governance for ZIG Markets vaults to reassure traditional investors about origination and credit controls.
- ZIGChain has built a local origination network with partners such as Beehive and ABHI, works with fund servicer Apex Group, and reports an ecosystem fund that has passed $100 million.
- The move leverages the UAE’s clearer rules for digital securities and aims to widen institutional access to SME finance, but success depends on execution, loan underwriting, and uptake of the first products expected in the coming months.