Komainu

Komainu is a regulated institutional digital asset custodian founded in 2018 as a joint venture by Japanese banking giant Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares, and hardware security company Ledger. The firm was purpose-built to solve the institutional custody problem in crypto: enabling banks, asset managers, and corporates to hold, stake, and mobilize digital assets with the same governance controls and regulatory protections they expect from traditional finance. Komainu supports over 40 native blockchains and 6,000+ tokens — including Solana (SOL) — under a bank-grade security architecture.

Founding and Background

Komainu launched in 2018 when Nomura, CoinShares, and Ledger recognized that institutional capital could not enter digital assets without enterprise-grade custody infrastructure. The name references the komainu — the lion-dog guardians at Shinto shrines — signaling the firm's positioning as a protective gateway. Headquartered in Jersey, with offices in London, Dublin, Dubai, and Singapore, Komainu (Jersey) Limited received approval from the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) in 2019, establishing one of the earliest regulated frameworks for digital asset custody outside the United States.

Since launch, Komainu has built out a multi-jurisdictional regulatory footprint: it holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), an MLR registration with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and an OAM registry registration in Italy. In 2025 the firm received formal FCA crypto registration, expanding its UK standing.

Funding

Komainu closed a $25 million Series A in 2021. In January 2025, Blockstream Capital Partners led a $75 million strategic investment round. The funding is earmarked for international expansion into Singapore, Japan, and a deeper Italian footprint, as well as integration of Blockstream's technology stack across collateral management and tokenization. Blockstream CEO and co-founder Adam Back joined Komainu's board of directors following the investment. Other current board members include executives from Laser Digital and Blockstream Capital Partners.

Core Services

Custody

Komainu's custody infrastructure combines Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallets and Hardware Security Module (HSM) wallets, a dual-technology approach the firm describes as providing resilience through diversification. Client assets are held in segregated, bankruptcy-remote, on-chain wallets — meaning each client's holdings are verifiable directly on-chain, not through Komainu's internal ledger. This structure eliminates counterparty commingling risk and provides independent auditability.

The platform's governance layer replicates traditional finance controls, including maker/checker transaction approvals and a customizable risk engine for automated transaction screening and Travel Rule compliance. The Komainu Portal serves as a unified front, middle, and back-office interface, providing reporting, reconciliation, and workflow management.

Staking

Komainu launched custodial staking in 2021. The staking service allows institutional clients to earn Proof-of-Stake rewards on their held assets without moving those assets out of their segregated custody wallets. Assets remain on-chain and under Komainu's regulated custody at all times during the staking process.

Supported staking assets include Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Tezos (XTZ), Polygon (POL), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Cardano (ADA), and Cosmos (ATOM). Automated delegation and reward reinvestment engines manage the lifecycle, eliminating manual processes. Komainu works with a curated set of validator infrastructure partners — including Kiln, Figment, Blockdaemon, Twinstake, and P2P — to provide clients a choice of vetted staking venues. The firm reports maintaining an excellent slashing record across its validator partnerships.

Komainu Connect

Launched in 2023, Komainu Connect allows institutional clients to trade, borrow, or lend their digital assets through Komainu's network of exchange and lending partners — while the underlying assets remain in custody at all times. This addresses a key institutional friction point: the risk and operational complexity of moving assets off-platform to access liquidity. Komainu Connect uses Blockstream's Liquid Network to reduce settlement times from hours to minutes.

Komainu CORE and Tokenization

Komainu CORE is the firm's collateral management product, which transforms digital assets held in custody into compliant, governed collateral for use in lending, trading, and structured finance. Komainu became the first custodian to support tokenized money market funds — including BlackRock's BUIDL fund — as on-chain collateral, and has described itself as the largest custodian for BUIDL. A cross-margin solution for portfolios spanning digital assets, securities, and traditional assets was in development as of 2025.

The tokenization arm provides infrastructure for regulated tokenized finance: custody, governance, and connectivity for institutional issuers and investors participating in on-chain capital markets.

Leadership and Ecosystem Position

Komainu is led by co-CEOs Paul Frost-Smith and Robert Johnson. Frost-Smith brings over 30 years in international finance across JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, and Swiss Re. Johnson, who also serves as CTO, has 18 years of trading floor experience at MUFG Securities. The executive team includes CFO Tony Larkin (30+ years investment banking), Chief Commercial Officer Darren Jordan (former HSBC, ABN AMRO, BitGo), and Sebastian Widmann as Chief of Staff and head of the Dubai office, previously a VP for Digital Assets at Nomura.

Komainu's institutional exchange and infrastructure partners include Bybit, Gate, Deribit, Kiln, Figment, Blockdaemon, and Aviva Investors, with whom it is building tokenized fund infrastructure. In the Solana ecosystem specifically, Komainu provides both SOL custody and SOL staking through its custodial staking product, positioning it as a regulated entry point for traditional financial institutions seeking Solana's Proof-of-Stake yield without taking on self-custody risk.

The firm's stated strategic ambition is to become the leading full-scale digital asset financial services provider outside the Americas, targeting institutions in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific that require multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance alongside the operational depth of a traditional custodian.