Shiba Inu breaks 11-month downtrend after Japan approval

A meme coin sitting on the same approved list as Bitcoin and Ethereum inside one of the world’s strictest regulatory regimes. That’s the situation Shiba Inu finds itself in after Laser Digital Japan, the digital assets division of banking giant Nomura Holdings, included SHIB among just six tokens its platform will support. The approval follows Laser Digital Japan receiving its exchange registration from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) on August 21, 2026. It was the first new crypto exchange license the FSA had issued in four years. What the Japan approval actually means Laser Digital Japan’s asset roster is deliberately small: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and now Shiba Inu. That’s it. Six tokens, and a dog-themed memecoin made the cut alongside the blue chips. Laser Digital Japan plans to focus initially on liquidity services before expanding into broader institutional trading options. This isn’t SHIB’s first win in Japan, either. The token joined the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) “Green List” back in November 2025. Getting on that list required achieving listings on at least eight licensed Japanese exchanges, well above the...