Nomura's Laser Digital partners with Keyring Network to develop DeFi fixed-income markets
Nomura's digital asset subsidiary, Laser Digital, has partnered with Keyring Network to develop institutional-grade onchain fixed-income markets. The collaboration combines Keyring's zero-knowledge permissioning and settlement infrastructure with Laser Digital's risk governance and asset management expertise. The initiative aims to overcome traditional institutional barriers such as compliance exposure and exploit risks, with the first markets prepared to launch on Euler Finance.
Laser Digital–Keyring partnership
▪Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Nomura, partnered with Keyring Network on September 2, 2026, to develop institutional-grade onchain fixed-income products.
▪Under the partnership, Keyring Network provides DeFi infrastructure, access verification, risk parameterization, and liquidation frameworks, while Laser Digital provides governance, portfolio structuring, and market practice expertise.
▪Laser Digital and Keyring Network did not disclose committed capital, fee terms, a launch date, or the names of borrowers and lenders for their joint fixed-income markets.
Institutional DeFi barriers
▪Laser Digital and Keyring Network identified permissioning, exploit risk, governance, and settlement as the four primary barriers constraining institutional adoption of onchain fixed income.
▪Unrestricted counterparty access in open DeFi markets creates compliance exposure, while smart-contract vulnerabilities and thin institutional oversight limit allocator confidence.
Zero-knowledge permissioning framework
▪Keyring Network previously deployed its zero-knowledge identity layer on Avalanche DeFi vaults in August 2025.
▪The new fixed-income framework addresses institutional barriers by combining zero-knowledge permissioning, quantitative risk modeling, institutional governance, cyber insurance, and Keyring Network's '[un]wind' settlement technology.
Euler Finance integration
▪Euler Finance held $368.8 million in total value locked across 17 chains and $555.4 million in outstanding borrows as of September 2, 2026.
▪Euler Finance's founding CEO Michael Bentley stepped down in January 2026 as the protocol refocused its operations on institutional clients.
▪The first lending and borrowing markets developed by Laser Digital and Keyring Network are prepared to launch on Euler Finance, followed by other partners in a phased rollout.
Laser Digital onchain strategy
▪Laser Digital backed ZIGChain's emerging-market private credit initiative in August 2026 as part of its ongoing expansion into onchain credit markets.
▪Nomura established Laser Digital in 2022, operating the digital asset subsidiary out of Dubai and Switzerland.
Debatable claims
▪DeFi protocols should prioritize institutional clients over retail users
▪Public blockchains are suitable infrastructure for institutional fixed-income markets
▪DeFi protocols should implement permissioning to attract institutional capital
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