Sony Bank has received conditional OCC approval to form a New York-based national trust bank for its planned U.S. dollar stablecoin business. The unit, Connectia Trust, will not begin operations or issue stablecoins until all required approvals are secured.
Sony Bank has received conditional OCC approval to form a New York-based national trust bank for its planned U.S. dollar stablecoin business. The unit, Connectia Trust, will not begin operations or issue stablecoins until all required approvals are secured.
The approval matters because it places Sony’s banking arm closer to the regulated U.S. stablecoin market, while also showing how major non-crypto brands are exploring payment tokens through formal banking structures. The move comes as stablecoin activity has been rising, with Visa’s onchain dashboard showing transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion last month.
Sony Bank has received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank subsidiary for dollar-denominated stablecoins, according to Sony Financial Group. The planned New York-based entity, Connectia Trust, National Association, will be fully owned by Sony Bank and capitalized with $40 million.
The approval matters because it places Sony’s banking arm closer to the regulated U.S. stablecoin market, while also showing how major non-crypto brands are exploring payment tokens through formal banking structures. The move comes as stablecoin activity has been rising, with Visa’s onchain dashboard showing transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion last month.
Sony would be entering a market still dominated by dollar-pegged tokens. CoinDesk cited DeFiLlama data showing dollar-linked stablecoins account for more than 99% of a roughly $311 billion stablecoin market, while USDT and USDC together represent about $250 billion of the total.
Competition is also building among companies seeking regulated trust-bank structures for stablecoin businesses. CoinDesk reported that other firms, including Stripe-owned Bridge, Paxos and Circle Internet, have also received conditional OCC approvals tied to stablecoin plans.
Connectia Trust cannot begin operations, including any stablecoin issuance, until it receives all required approvals, including final OCC approval. Sony Bank’s latest step follows earlier plans for a stablecoin that could be used for games and anime payments, while U.S. regulators continue developing federal rules for payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act.
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