Infiniti Exchange, a hybrid DeFi protocol exchange, is now backed by Nomura’s crypto arm.
This new investment from the Japanese banking giant shows that investing in DeFi infrastructure and TradFi solutions enables tokenizing traditional assets and creating blockchain-based markets for institutional investors, illustrating a growing trend.
Laser Digital, the subsidiary of the Japanese investment bank Nomura, has made a strategic investment in Infiniti Exchange, a decentralized finance protocol.
Laser Digital and Infiniti did not disclose the size or valuation of their investment.
With Infiniti, blockchain-based, permissionless settlements are paired with traditional finance (TradFi) processes and risk management to create a hybrid lending and borrowing platform. Morgan Stanley’s protocol aims to provide institutional investors with fixed and floating interest rate markets, as well as crypto yield curves.
Infinity’s groundwork paves the way for institutional flows, new rates, and risk innovation, according to Olivier Dang, Laser’s head of ventures.
In addition to creating blockchain-based markets for institutional investors, the investment highlights a growing trend of crypto-native DeFi infrastructure and TradFi solutions integrating.
As a result of the latest crypto guidelines released by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), asset tokenization has gained some traction. As of 2025, tokenized traditional assets will be subject to the same risk weight as their original counterparts on the banking books, according to BIS guidelines.
“With US$300 trillion of credit securities outstanding and multiples of that in loan, derivative, and equity markets, the new guidelines portend a major wave of tokenization,” said the press release.
Nomura’s investment follows Infiniti’s $4.2 million seed round, which included CMS, GSR, and Susquehanna.
Laser Digital, a subsidiary dedicated to trading and investing in digital assets, was launched by the Japanese financial services firm last year.