Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Thursday, June 18 2020 - 01:50
AsiaNet
Komainu Emerges to Address Financial and Security Challenges for Digital Asset Institutional Investors
JERSEY CHANNEL ISLANDS, United Kingdom, June 18, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

    --  Secure and compliant digital asset custodian for institutions debuts, 
announces executive team

Global investment bank Nomura, digital asset security company Ledger, and 
pioneer digital asset investment house CoinShares, share further details of 
Komainu, a digital asset custody business for institutional investors. Komainu 
is the first hybrid institutional-grade custodian for institutional investors 
designed by finance and security leaders with the belief that decentralised 
finance needs to be institutionalised, regulatory compliant and secure for 
institutions looking to incorporate digital assets into their investment 
strategies.

Komainu is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission as a custodian 
and depositary and provides custody for a range of digital assets on an 
institutionally compliant platform powered by a Ledger bespoke environment.  

Through the partnership, Komainu draws on expertise from banking, fund 
management and cyber-security and provides an optimised application-based 
solution allowing multi-asset support benefits, regulatory compliance and 
insurance, while giving peace of mind to digital asset owners with built-in 
security protocols. The hybrid custody solution has the capability to integrate 
with legacy financial systems and works to seamlessly overlay services to 
complement native processes. Komainu only supports clients and tokens that 
satisfy AML and provenance requirements.

Komainu will be led by a team of experts handpicked by leadership from Nomura, 
Ledger and CoinShares. Jean-Marie Mognetti, Co-Founder and CEO of CoinShares, 
will also take the helm of Komainu. Kenton Farmer will serve as Head of 
Operations, bringing experience from financial service institutions such as 
Credit Suisse and Hermes Fund Managers. Andrew Morfill joins Komainu as Chief 
Information Security Officer after his position of Global Head of Cyber Defense 
at Santander Group, and his experience building the Cyber Intelligence division 
at Vodafone Group. Susan Patterson, Head of Regulatory Affairs, is a former 
regulator and has worked for industry leaders including Credit Suisse, Brevan 
Howard and UBS. 

Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO and Co-founder of CoinShares, and CEO of Komainu, 
said: "The growth and maturity of the digital asset industry highlights the 
true potential for decentralised finance. What this partnership has highlighted 
is the need for credible and solid service providers to support industry 
participants. Komainu bridges the gap by bringing financial expertise and 
capabilities for institutional clients to feel confident their assets are in 
safe hands."

Jezri Mohideen, Global Chief Digital Officer, Wholesale at Nomura, said: 
"Through the joint venture between Nomura, Ledger and CoinShares we have 
successfully bridged the gap between legacy finance and emerging technology, 
establishing Komainu as a regulated and secure digital asset custody solution 
tailored to the needs of institutional clients. Komainu will act as a 
foundational pillar to Nomura's digital asset strategy, enabling the firm to 
further progress with its initiatives across the full digital asset value 
chain, thereby setting out to become one of the leaders in the institutional 
digital asset industry."

Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, said: "Institutions are looking for compliance 
and security when it comes to the custody of digital assets. With 
cryptocurrencies more prone to vulnerabilities, institutions' digital assets 
are weaponised against them without the proper security infrastructure in 
place. Through our combined experience, we have developed a sophisticated 
financial and security solution that will be the key institutional partner."

Daniel Masters, Chairman of CoinShares said: "The case for digital assets as 
part of an investment portfolio, both as a source of diversification and as a 
countermeasure to rampant money supply expansion, is becoming clearer to 
institutions. The foundation for such institutional participation must be 
robust asset custody. Komainu combines best-in-class fiduciary and engineering 
expertise to deliver the required functionality and peace of mind."

About Komainu
Komainu is the first hybrid custodian offering safe-keeping for institutional 
client's digital assets. Created by the Japanese investment bank, Nomura, 
digital asset investment house, CoinShares and digital asset security company, 
Ledger, Komainu is solving the problem of decentralised and secure digital 
asset custody by providing a single application-based solution to institutions, 
allowing multi-asset support benefits, regulatory compliance and insurance. 
Headquartered in Jersey, Komainu merges best in class financial services with 
the highest security standards for the next generation of institutional 
custody. For more information, please visit: https://www.komainu.com/

About Nomura
Nomura is an Asia-headquartered financial services group with an integrated 
global network spanning over 30 countries. By connecting markets East & West, 
Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and 
governments through its four business divisions: Retail, Asset Management, 
Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking), and Merchant Banking. 
Founded in 1925, the firm is built on a tradition of disciplined 
entrepreneurship, serving clients with creative solutions and considered 
thought leadership. For further information about Nomura, visit: www.nomura.com 

About Ledger
Ledger is the global leader in security and infrastructure solutions for 
safeguarding critical digital assets from cryptocurrencies and DApps to CBDCs 
and STOs. With a team of over 200 professionals around the world, Ledger offers 
a variety of products and services that protect critical digital assets for 
individuals, companies and connected devices. For more information, please 
visit: https://www.ledger.com/ 

About CoinShares
CoinShares is expanding access to the digital asset ecosystem while serving as 
a trusted partner for clients. CoinShares believes that Bitcoin and blockchain 
networks are landmark innovations that will fundamentally reshape the global 
financial system, and that investors should be able to participate in this 
transformation. CoinShares achieves this mission by providing 
institutional-grade investments products and services for digital asset 
investors. The CoinShares Group is a pioneer in digital asset investing, 
delivering its services to a global investor base, with offices in Jersey, 
Stockholm, London, and New York. For more information, please visit: 
https://coinshares.com/ 

CONTACT: DITTO PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Komainu@dittopr.co 

SOURCE  Komainu