OCC Clears Sony Bank to Open Connectia Trust for USD Stablecoin Business

Sony Bank has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to open Connectia Trust, a national trust bank focused on stablecoin issuance and custody. The approval was disclosed on July 7, 2026, one day after the board signed off on the plan. Connectia Trust will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary under Sony Financial Group, carrying $40 million in capital (approximately 6.4 billion yen).

The charter restricts Connectia Trust to specific activities: stablecoin issuance, reserve asset maintenance, non-fiduciary digital asset custody, and fiduciary asset management for Sony affiliates. It will not take deposits, make loans, or process traditional payments. This narrower scope avoids deposit insurance and prudential requirements associated with a full banking license and places Sony under a single federal regulator rather than multiple state money transmitter licenses.

Sony originally filed the OCC application in October 2025. The conditional approval is a preliminary step; final clearance depends on additional OCC review and sign-off from Japanese regulators before any stablecoin activity can begin.

For technical infrastructure, Sony Bank has partnered with Bastion Platforms, announced in December 2025. Bastion will handle issuance, redemption, reserve management, and custody. Bastion holds a New York trust charter and is separately pursuing its own OCC national trust conversion. Sony Innovation Fund has invested in Bastion, further aligning the two companies.

The stablecoin is intended to facilitate payments within Sony’s U.S. content business, which generates over 30% of parent company sales. Games, anime, streaming subscriptions, and other digital content currently rely on credit card networks. A branded stablecoin could route some of that volume around card fees. Sony has identified PlayStation purchases, anime, streaming subscriptions, and cross-border treasury use as early targets.

The application faced opposition from the Independent Community Bankers of America, which argued in November 2025 that a trust bank model for a tech conglomerate blurs the line between banking and commerce. The OCC proceeded, treating stablecoin issuance and custody as permissible national bank activities. The conditional approval may include added governance requirements, such as a standalone CFO for the U.S. entity.

Sony’s plan operates under the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, which sets reserve requirements for payment stablecoins: 1:1 backing with cash, insured deposits, short-term Treasuries, or qualifying money market funds, along with audit and sanctions compliance. This provides a path to federal qualified issuer status, unavailable under Japan’s more limited stablecoin rules. Sony chose a dollar-pegged token for this reason.

Sony Bank targets commercial operations in 2027, contingent on final OCC approval and clearance from Japanese authorities. Because Connectia Trust’s capital exceeds 10% of Sony Financial Group’s capital, it is classified as a specified subsidiary under Japanese disclosure rules. Sony expects the near-term financial impact through March 2027 to be minor.

The entry of a major consumer brand like Sony into stablecoin issuance under the GENIUS Act reflects a broader trend. With a built-in user base of PlayStation owners and streaming subscribers, Sony’s stablecoin could create a payment rail without chasing merchant adoption from scratch. The company’s cautious regulatory-first approach contrasts with existing issuers like Tether and Circle. For the broader crypto market, the move targets payments infrastructure, not trading products, and remains over a year away from launch.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/occ-clears-sony-bank-to-open-connectia-trust-for-usd-stablecoin-business/