Nomura’s Laser Digital applies to open U.S. national trust bank for crypto custody

Laser Digital, the digital assets arm of Japanese investment bank Nomura, said it filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to open a federally regulated national trust bank, joining a number of crypto companies looking to off asset management services for the digital assets industry.

The proposed Laser Digital National Trust Bank would be based in the U.S. and serve institutional clients with custody for cryptocurrencies and U.S. government securities. It would also offer spot trading for both crypto and fiat currencies, along with staking services for eligible digital assets held in custody, according to a Tuesday press release.

If approved, Laser Digital would join a small group of federally regulated crypto-native institutions able to offer these services under direct supervision from a national regulator. The application comes just a month after Ripple, Circle Internet (CRCL), BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos received initial approvals as trust banks.

“Institutional clients are increasingly looking for ways to engage with digital assets within structures that are familiar, well governed, and regulator supervised,” Purvi Maniar, Laser Digital’s chief legal officer and proposed bank president, said in a statement. “The National Trust Bank framework provides exactly that.”

Laser Digital, based in Zurich and already licensed in the UAE, currently offers crypto funds, over-the-counter trading and treasury management tools. Earlier this month it introduced a tokenized bitcoin yield-bearing fund, the Laser Digital Bitcoin Diversified Yield Fund.

The proposed bank will not offer deposit accounts or securities trading at launch.