SMBC Nikko Securities and Nethermind have signed a memorandum of understanding with Uniswap Labs, Base and Nyx Foundation to create a Japan-oriented decentralized finance gateway, with completion scheduled for mid-2027.
On 2, SMBC Nikko announced that the five organizations will develop a liquidity provision protocol and custom pools designed to give Japanese investors controlled access to decentralized finance. In the announcement, the work is described as a development project, and it does not say that Japan's Financial Services Agency has approved the product for public use.
The project expands on work that SMBC Nikko and Nethermind announced in March. Their previous research focused on establishing a connection between Japanese investors and automated market makers, as well as testing risk controls, user protection and artificial intelligence tools. In the memorandum of understanding signed in October, Uniswap Labs, Base and Nyx Foundation join the project with specific technical roles.
How Will the Japanese DeFi Gateway Work?
The 2 press release says the partners plan to create an open framework for liquidity pools using Uniswap v4 mechanisms. The proposed mechanisms will include anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and investor protection measures with respect to pool activity.
In July, Uniswap Labs introduced Permissioned Pools using the v4 verification standard, which checks issuer-managed allowlists of wallets before approved wallets can swap funds or provide liquidity. The company said that in this way compliance rules can be enforced at the pool level rather than relying solely on a website or off-chain verification.
The Japan project goes beyond the existing Uniswap product. In its press release, SMBC Nikko says the group will refine and test automated market-making strategies and version 4 hooks for Japan, including token and protocol verification. Information on supported tokens, client requirements, fees and minimum investment amounts has not been disclosed.
The proposed liquidity work includes stablecoins and real-world assets. The memorandum of understanding says participants will develop asset placement strategies covering digital assets such as stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA), but it does not specify the issuer, stablecoin or tokenized security involved in the gateway's operation.
What Will Uniswap, Base and Nethermind Build?
Under the memorandum of understanding, SMBC Nikko will lead discussions with regulators and also contribute in the areas of compliance, risk modeling and portfolio management. Nethermind is responsible for technical design and implementation of projects in the areas of development, AI integration and smart contract security.
Uniswap Labs will provide expertise in protocol integration and liquidity deployment strategies. Nyx Foundation will advise on market-making strategies and hook structures, while Base will support deployment in its 2-layer Ethereum ecosystem.
Base's work includes technical feedback on the x402 protocol, an open payment protocol developed by Coinbase. Coinbase says x402 allows software and AI agents to make payments in stablecoins for API and online services using HTTP payment requests.
The partners are separately exploring what the announcement calls "agentic vaults" using verifiable and reproducible AI. SMBC Nikko defines the proposed systems as AI tools that can support or execute investment decisions, and in its March research the company described automation operating within predefined parameters rather than giving AI unrestricted control.
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