Key Takeaways
- • Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Japan's Nomura Group, has partnered with Keyring Network to bring institutional fixed income strategies onchain, with a stated aim of having a full suite of onchain strategies within a year, starting with fixed income.
- • Laser Digital cites $160 trillion in outstanding fixed income securities at the end of 2025, versus just $25.2bn in active real-world assets onchain at the end of March 2026, according to its report.
- • Laser Digital aims to act as an advisory risk governor for low-risk DeFi vaults, combining quantitative risk modelling with institutional governance.
- • The partnership initially focuses on lending and borrowing markets, with Keyring providing access verification, risk parameterisation, and liquidation framework design.
- • Laser Digital's CEO Dr. Jez Mohideen says institutional interest in onchain fixed income is real, but so are the constraints.
Summary
Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Japan's Nomura Group, has formed a partnership with Keyring Network to bring fixed income products onchain. According to a Laser Digital report, fixed income is the largest asset class in global finance, with outstanding securities of $160 trillion at the end of 2025. By comparison, active real-world assets onchain totaled just $25.2bn at the end of March 2026, which the report describes as a "tiny" market relative to the opportunity.
Dr. Jez Mohideen, chief executive and co-founder of Laser Digital, said institutional interest in onchain fixed income is no longer theoretical, but that constraints remain. He said the firm is focused on offerings that resemble conventional fixed income instruments rather than volatile crypto tokens, while preserving the settlement efficiency of onchain markets. According to the report, Laser Digital aims to become an advisory risk governor for low-risk DeFi vaults, combining quantitative risk modelling with institutional governance. The firm describes itself as a regulated, full-spectrum digital asset firm offering institutional-grade over-the-counter trading, asset management, structured financing and early-stage venture capital; Nomura established the firm in 2022.
The partnership, first announced in September 2026, targets institutional fixed income products initially focused on lending and borrowing markets that meet established standards of governance, compliance and risk control. Keyring Network, a UK fintech providing compliance, verification and trust infrastructure for onchain markets, will supply access verification, quantitative risk parameterisation and liquidation framework design. Laser Digital's asset management division will contribute governance standards, portfolio structuring and market practice expertise. The companies say they will combine zero-knowledge permissioning, risk modelling, cyber insurance and risk-control mechanisms, and settlement technology via Keyring's [un]wind to allow onchain products to scale beyond the current DeFi liquidity base. Alex McFarlane, founder and chief executive of Keyring Network, said the aim is to enable fixed income strategies that can operate at institutional scale onchain.
Andrea Vianelli, chief operating officer for asset management and structuring advisory at Laser Digital, told Markets Media the firm had sought the right partner for a long time. He said Laser Digital will focus predominantly on bringing traditional finance strategies onchain and described the firm as potentially the first global bank-sponsored player to move into digital asset finance beyond tokenization. Vianelli noted that few onchain bond funds currently exist and expects that to change, positioning Laser Digital as a gateway for traditional investors and a manager with strong due diligence for onchain natives. He also pointed to KAIO, the institutional tokenization platform incubated by Laser Digital, which launched its governance token in May 2026 and supported five institutional-grade funds across more than ten blockchains with approximately $100m in total value locked. KAIO works with asset managers including BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane and Laser Digital. Vianelli said tokenized equities are another area of interest.
Dr. Jez Mohideen, chief executive and co-founder of Laser Digital, said institutional interest in onchain fixed income is no longer theoretical, but that constraints remain. He said the firm is focused on offerings that resemble conventional fixed income instruments rather than volatile crypto tokens, while preserving the settlement efficiency of onchain markets. According to the report, Laser Digital aims to become an advisory risk governor for low-risk DeFi vaults, combining quantitative risk modelling with institutional governance. The firm describes itself as a regulated, full-spectrum digital asset firm offering institutional-grade over-the-counter trading, asset management, structured financing and early-stage venture capital; Nomura established the firm in 2022.
The partnership, first announced in September 2026, targets institutional fixed income products initially focused on lending and borrowing markets that meet established standards of governance, compliance and risk control. Keyring Network, a UK fintech providing compliance, verification and trust infrastructure for onchain markets, will supply access verification, quantitative risk parameterisation and liquidation framework design. Laser Digital's asset management division will contribute governance standards, portfolio structuring and market practice expertise. The companies say they will combine zero-knowledge permissioning, risk modelling, cyber insurance and risk-control mechanisms, and settlement technology via Keyring's [un]wind to allow onchain products to scale beyond the current DeFi liquidity base. Alex McFarlane, founder and chief executive of Keyring Network, said the aim is to enable fixed income strategies that can operate at institutional scale onchain.
Andrea Vianelli, chief operating officer for asset management and structuring advisory at Laser Digital, told Markets Media the firm had sought the right partner for a long time. He said Laser Digital will focus predominantly on bringing traditional finance strategies onchain and described the firm as potentially the first global bank-sponsored player to move into digital asset finance beyond tokenization. Vianelli noted that few onchain bond funds currently exist and expects that to change, positioning Laser Digital as a gateway for traditional investors and a manager with strong due diligence for onchain natives. He also pointed to KAIO, the institutional tokenization platform incubated by Laser Digital, which launched its governance token in May 2026 and supported five institutional-grade funds across more than ten blockchains with approximately $100m in total value locked. KAIO works with asset managers including BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane and Laser Digital. Vianelli said tokenized equities are another area of interest.
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