Nomura's digital assets unit just bought into ZIGChain and will co-manage a pipeline of onchain lending products. The play targets emerging-market private credit, a corner of tokenized real-world assets that's barely scratched. ZIG Markets has already moved over $50 million across its products in ten months flat, with zero defaults so far.
The Deal and the Market Gap
Laser Digital, Nomura's crypto arm, took a stake in ZIG tokens and will handle product structuring and risk governance for vaults being built by ZIG Markets. The investment size stayed quiet. What matters more: emerging-market private credit sits at $7.12 billion of the $37.64 billion tokenized real-world asset pie, according to RWA.xyz tracking. Both firms see a yawning gap between supply and demand for institutional credit in the region.
ZIG Markets sources deals across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. Laser Digital brings the underwriting playbook and risk frameworks. It's a clean split. Gadit, ZIGChain's co-founder and chief commercial officer, told The Defiant the origination book hit $50 million with zero write-offs over the past ten months. He's careful though. "Ten months isn't a full cycle," he said. "We're not going to pretend that number means the job's done."
What's Next, And Who Can Join
ZIGChain is targeting $25 million locked by September, scaling to $100 million by November, though neither is a hard deadline. The first product launches in three to four weeks. Distribution will run through exchanges, neobanks, wallets and DeFi protocols, open to both institutional and retail. The carve-out: sanctioned jurisdictions, plus US and Russian residents get blocked.
Beyond private credit, the companies plan to build PayFi, SME financing, invoice factoring and stablecoin products. Co-branding gets confirmed as each product nears go-live.
This is informational content only and does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making investment decisions.
