SMBC Nikko to develop regulated DeFi gateway for Japan

SMBC Nikko Securities has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nethermind, Uniswap Labs, Base, and the Nyx Foundation to develop a regulated ‘DeFi Gateway’ for the Japanese market. The project aims to provide domestic investors and institutional players with access to decentralized finance through permissioned liquidity pools.

The gateway will utilize Uniswap v4 ‘hooks’ to integrate essential compliance features, including anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) controls, directly into the liquidity pools. This technical approach allows for investor protection and regulatory adherence within a decentralized environment.

Additional features planned for the gateway include AI-driven ‘agentic vaults’ to assist with investment decisions and strategies for providing liquidity to digital assets such as stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA). SMBC Nikko will lead regulatory discussions and compliance modeling, while Nethermind will manage technical engineering and smart contract security. The project is targeted for completion by mid-2027.