Main Points :
- Sony Bank, via its U.S. subsidiary Connectia Trust, has applied for an OCC charter to issue a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin and offer crypto custody services.
- The move marks a pioneering step for a Japanese bank to integrate into the U.S. regulated stablecoin and crypto-asset infrastructure.
- In 2025, the U.S. passed the GENIUS Act, setting a federal regulatory regime for payment stablecoins with requirements for 1:1 reserves, audit/disclosure obligations, and issuer oversight.
- The regulatory clarity created by GENIUS is drawing a wave of entrants (e.g. Sony, Stripe, Coinbase) aiming to become regulated issuers or custodians.
- For crypto investors and developers, these developments signal that stablecoins and tokenized financial infrastructure may become the backbone (“money rails”) of the next generation of blockchain applications.
Sony Bank’s U.S. Move: Issuing Stablecoins and Custody Services
Sony Bank, under the umbrella of Sony Financial Group, has formally applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust charter via a subsidiary named Connectia Trust. Through this charter, Sony seeks to issue a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin, manage its collateral reserves, and provide crypto custody services.
Connectia Trust would operate under U.S. federal oversight, positioning Sony as one of the few non-U.S. financial firms seeking to embed itself into regulated stablecoin infrastructure. In its application, Sony emphasizes that its intended functions—stablecoin issuance, collateral management, and custody—will align with activities already permitted to national banks.
This is a cautious, incremental strategy: the initial scope is restricted to stablecoin issuance, reserve backing, custody, and related trust operations — rather than speculative activities. Sony is following in the footsteps of Stripe’s Bridge and Coinbase, both of which are also applying for OCC or trust charters to support stablecoin operations.
If granted, Sony would become a Japanese banking entity operating within U.S. federal regulation in the stablecoin and blockchain space — a novel hybrid of tech, finance, and regulated crypto infrastructure.
The GENIUS Act: A New U.S. Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins
What is the GENIUS Act?
In 2025, the U.S. enacted the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), the first federal law specifically targeting payment stablecoins. The intent is to create clear rules and guardrails around stablecoin issuance, reserve custody, audit/disclosure, issuer classification, and cross-jurisdictional operations.
Under GENIUS, there are three categories of permitted issuers:
- Subsidiaries of insured depository institutions (IDIs) — banks or credit unions with deposit insurance.
- Federal-qualified nonbank issuers — entities chartered at the federal level (e.g. OCC-regulated trust banks).
- State-qualified issuers — nonbanks regulated at state level, if state regimes are “substantially similar” to federal standards.
Issuers exceeding a threshold of US$10 billion in outstanding stablecoin issuance must be directly regulated by federal authority; smaller issuers may operate under state-level regimes meeting federal equivalence.
Importantly, the law explicitly excludes stablecoins from being classified as securities or commodities when they are issued by permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the act. This helps reduce legal ambiguity over whether certain tokens should be regulated by the SEC or CFTC.
Key Requirements and Restrictions
Under the GENIUS Act, stablecoin issuers must adhere to the following core obligations:
- 1:1 Reserve Backing — Every payment stablecoin must be backed by safe, liquid assets (e.g. U.S. dollars, U.S. Treasuries, or equivalents) on a one-to-one basis.
- Monthly Proof-of-Reserve & Independent Audit — Issuers are required to publish monthly disclosures of reserve composition, audited by third parties, and certified by senior executives under legal liability.
- No Interest Payments on Stablecoin Holdings — The law prohibits paying interest to stablecoin holders (or otherwise adds restrictions on interest-bearing stablecoins).
- Custody and Commingling Rules — Custodians and issuers cannot mix customer funds with their own; they must avoid conflicts of interest.
- Marketing & Consumer Protections — Issuers cannot mislead users by claiming stablecoins are backed by the U.S. government or are “legal tender,” among other restrictions.
- Cross-Border Restrictions — Foreign stablecoin issuers must meet comparable regulatory standards to operate or be offered in the U.S. market.
The GENIUS Act was passed by the Senate in June 2025 (68–30 margin) and signed by President Trump in July 2025.
Implications & Reactions
The passage of GENIUS marks a watershed moment in U.S. crypto policy: for the first time, stablecoin issuance is regulated under a legal framework, reducing uncertainty and creating clear pathways for compliant entrants.
Some analysis suggests that the act could lower entry barriers for new issuers, so long as they satisfy compliance requirements. Balancing that, critics argue that auditing standards are not yet established, enforcement risk remains, and oversight of anti-money laundering (AML) and systemic risk deserve further refinement.
GENIUS also explicitly prohibits interest payment on stablecoin holdings, reinforcing the view that such tokens are meant for payments and rails, not investment vehicles.
In market terms, the legislation is seen as a boon to stablecoin issuers with strong compliance posture. For instance, Circle (issuer of USDC) saw its shares rally following Senate passage. Meanwhile, Tether (issuer of USDT) faces pressure to adapt in a more regulated regime.
Forecasts by Treasury and some analysts suggest that with regulatory clarity, the stablecoin market could grow dramatically — potentially reaching trillions in U.S. dollar–pegged token issuance over the coming decade.
Why These Developments Matter for Crypto Builders and Investors
1. The “Money Rail of the Internet”
Once regulatory frameworks are in place, stablecoins can become the default medium of exchange on-chain, supporting payments, microtransactions, remittances, tokenized securities, and embedded finance. Analysts expect that stablecoins will evolve into the digital era’s backbone — the “money rail” of the internet.
With stablecoins regulated and widely trusted, more applications may build directly on top of them—reducing friction with fiat, lowering settlement risk, and enabling programmable money flows (e.g. real-time royalty payments, streaming payments, automated subscriptions, DeFi with real fiat backing).
2. Opportunity to Enter as a Compliant Issuer or Custodian
The regulatory template provided by GENIUS gives prospective entrants a clear specification: design a trust bank, chartered entity, or regulated depository, hold reserves, adopt audits and disclosure, and abide by marketing and custody rules. Sony’s move is a case study of a non-crypto native institution seeking to enter this space via compliance first.
Developers, infrastructure providers, and institutions (including non-US ones) may now evaluate routes to become stablecoin issuers or custodians — not under regulatory ambiguity, but within a defined legal framework.
3. Tokenization, Composability, and New Revenue Streams
With stablecoins regulated and institutionally supported, tokenization of real-world assets—such as bonds, loans, securities, real estate—becomes more plausible. These tokenized assets can integrate with stablecoins as settlement layers, enabling fully on-chain capital markets.
Firms could monetize via issuance fees, custody fees, tokenization-as-a-service platforms, cross-border settlement rails, or payment processor integrations (e.g. merchants accepting stablecoin settlement).
4. Risk, Compliance, and Audit Innovation
Complying with GENIUS-style requirements demands scalable, transparent proof-of-reserve systems and novel auditing tools for off-chain backing. This opens opportunities in real-time auditor infrastructure, cryptographic attestations, or hybrid on-chain/off-chain audit oracles.
Moreover, firms will need robust AML/KYC & compliance layers, liability insurance, legal frameworks, and system resilience to regulatory requests (e.g. freezing, recalls). Those with strong compliance-first infrastructure may gain a competitive advantage.
Recent Trends & Signals (Post-Sony / Post-GENIUS)
- Major global banks (Bank of America, UBS, Citi, etc.) have begun exploring stablecoin issuance pegged to G7 currencies, signaling that stablecoin issuance is attracting traditional finance institutions.
- The GENIUS Act has already spurred market reaction: Circle’s share prices rose sharply post-passage.
- Some commentators warn of challenges: audit standards for proof-of-reserve are not yet codified, and cross-border jurisdictional coordination is complex.
- Sony isn’t alone — Stripe’s Bridge stablecoin arm is also applying for an OCC trust charter.
- Analysts project with regulatory clarity, stablecoin markets could scale from current sizes (hundreds of billions) to trillions over the coming decade.
Conclusion
Sony Bank’s filing to issue a U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin and offer crypto custody services via Connectia Trust may at first glance look like a financial experiment—but in context, it is emblematic of a critical inflection point. Now that the GENIUS Act has codified regulatory guardrails for stablecoins in the U.S., the playing field is opening for compliant entrants to build the next generation of blockchain-driven finance.
For crypto builders, investors, and institutions seeking new yield sources or infrastructure bets, this is a moment to prepare: design token systems that respect reserve, audit, regulation, and interoperability rules. Stablecoins, under this new regime, may well become the plumbing of the digital economy, bridging traditional finance and on-chain composability.
