Sony wins conditional US approval to issue a dollar stablecoin by 2027

Sony Bank has successfully completed its inaugural federal assessment and acquired the necessary permission to manufacture a dollar stablecoin. This is a remarkable progress for the well-known production company in allusion to its ambitions in the field where major manufacturers are trying to exploit the opportunities provided by the system of regulation in US banking.

The approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has implications that extend beyond Tokyo. The fact that Sony has entered the digital currency space means that it is no longer just cryptocurrency companies involved in issuing dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens. Circle, Ripple, and Paxos were among the first group of companies to be granted a trust license in December.

Major financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley are also seeking the same licensing arrangements for their own digital-asset arms. The Klaros Group’s director and a former OCC regulator, Roman Goldstein, dubbed the Sony operation the “first commercial-conglomerate ecosystem bank.”

What the OCC actually granted

The regulator did not provide a green signal to conduct business but offered initial provisional approval. Sony Bank, an online lender of Sony Financial Group, stated that the newly formed entity which will be established as a fully-owned subsidiary with $40-million (approx. ¥6.4 billion) initial capital is named as Connectia Trust, National Association. The start of business operations is expected in 2027.

Connectia has been set up for only one purpose; issuance and management of dollar-stable coins. The application for the charter does not include any traditional banking activity such as taking deposits, granting loans or making payments. Additionally, Sony wanted to highlight that no transactions would occur until an acquisition of the needed approvals from the OCC.

“Until all approvals and other authorizations, including the OCC’s final approval, have been obtained, no business activities, including the issuance of stablecoins, will be conducted,” the Company said in a statement.

Because the $40 million commitment exceeds 10% of Sony Financial Group’s capital, the parent had to disclose the plan to Japanese authorities under the country’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Banking Dive noted.

Why Sony wants to be its own issuer

According to the American Banker, Sony already had a way to get into the stablecoin business in December 2025. It partnered with Bastion Platforms of California, which is expected to become the issuer, custodian and reserve keeper of the token once it is launched. Bastion itself is pursuing a conversion application to obtain a national trust charter.

With a charter, Sony’s position changes in the hierarchy. Goldstein stated that this license makes Sony the “issuer of record,” which means that the company obtains direct communication with the regulator and also manages its compliance program. The license also allows receiving income from the reserve assets, which in the future will allow it to become a qualified issuer in compliance with the GENIUS Act. If it lacked such a charter, Goldstein claims that its product would be issued under another company’s license and inherit that company’s regulatory risk.

Evey Guo, a principal of FS Vector, suggests that the charter allows Sony to “control their own destiny.” With the federal charter in hand, the company can manage issuance, custody, transfer and redemption under as single federal supervisor without involvement of any third-party provider and money-transmitter licensee.

The strategic business interest relies on Sony’s own products. According to American Banker, the company intends to use dollar tokens for treasury operations, cross-border payments, and in-app purchases for its entertainment products, such as video games, anime, movies and music, which would help save on payment processing fees through the card networks.

Bankers and consumer advocates push back

Since October 2025, the proposal has been the subject of criticism. The Bank Policy Institute questioned if the charter could violate the long-standing separation of commerce and banking activities. Moreover, the Independent Community Bankers of America warned that the trust lacks deposit insurance, increasing the risk for customers in case of its collapse, and also stated that the OCC’s assumptions were untested for such a large institution.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition went even further expressing the opinion that approval of Connectia “would create a two-tier system where digital asset firms receive comparable federal status without comparable public obligations, undermining the integrity of the entire chartering framework.”

Nevertheless, the OCC decided to proceed since the interpretation of the current law allows the move. It did attach at least one unusual string: Goldstein noted the regulator may require Sony’s unit to install a full-time, dedicated chief financial officer.

What to watch next

Before it can proceed with issuing anything, Connectia must receive final approval from OCC authorities and approval from Japanese regulators, and there still isn’t a named head from Sony to run it. The 2027 plan is only saved if those approvals happen. Sony is now the testing subject for a market watching if big companies not in finance can get into the US dollar-token system.

Sony Bank has won preliminary conditional approval from the US OCC to set up Connectia Trust, a national trust bank subsidiary built to issue and manage dollar-denominated stablecoins, with a launch targeted for 2027. The move matters to the wider crypto market because it puts a major global conglomerate alongside Circle, Ripple and Paxos in the race for US trust charters, even as banking groups and consumer advocates warn the structure lets stablecoin issuers gain bank-like status without bank-like obligations.

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