Sony Bank Secures Preliminary Approval for US Stablecoin Business

Sony Bank, a subsidiary of Sony Financial Group, said it’s received preliminary approval to establish a new US national trust bank subsidiary that will issue US dollar-denominated stablecoins.

The new unit, Connectia Trust, National Association, gained preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on July 2.

It will be fully owned by Sony Bank and will support the issuance and management of US dollar-denominated stablecoins, according to a Monday announcement by Sony Financial Group.

The approval signals Sony’s entry into regulated US stablecoin issuance, part of a long-term digital asset business foundation, which it is backing with $40 million in starting capital.

Sony Bank said that no business activities or stablecoin issuance will be conducted until all approvals and authorizations are received, including the final approval from the OCC. The conglomerate plans to launch the stablecoin subsidiary this month.

Cointelegraph has approached Sony Bank for more details about the business and whether it would include the launch of a proprietary stablecoin, but did not receive a reply by time of publication.

Earlier in March, Sony Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with stablecoin issuer JPYC Inc. to study whether the Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin can be connected more directly to the bank’s deposit rails.

Overview of the specified Sony Bank subsidiary to be established in the US. Source: Sony Bank

Banks seek stablecoin integrations despite regulatory headwinds

More of the world’s biggest banks are seeking to integrate stablecoin infrastructure into traditional systems, despite regulatory headwinds in the US.

Last Thursday, British multinational bank Standard Chartered and USDC issuer Circle said they developed a system that lets institutions mint and redeem the USDC stablecoin through a bank-led onboarding process. Clients will be able to mint and redeem the US dollar-backed stablecoin directly through StanChart’s platform instead of opening separate accounts with Circle.

Related: SWIFT launches blockchain ledger with 17-bank tokenized deposit pilot

Meanwhile, Congressional progress on the first regulatory framework for digital assets in the US, the CLARITY Act, remains stalled, prompting Galaxy Digital to cut its odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 to 50%.

While the legislation is set for a House of Representatives hearing on July 17, Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, warned that the bill may not have enough floor time before the Senate is scheduled to leave for its traditional four-week recess on Aug. 8 

The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May, but faced pushback from most Democrats and the banking industry over concerns it would allow crypto firms to offer yields on stablecoins without facing the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. 

At the beginning of June, more than 200 crypto companies and related organizations urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, in a letter shared by crypto lobby group Stand With Crypto.

In May, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Fox Business that banks will continue to “fight” against the current version of the CLARITY Act and said that crypto companies wanting to offer yield-bearing products “should apply for banking charters.” 

Magazine: Wall Street’s tokenization boom has a liquidity problem: Axis CEO