Sony Bank, a subsidiary of Sony Financial Group, has secured preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - the US national bank regulator - to establish a trust bank subsidiary that will issue a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. The new subsidiary, named Connectia Trust, is set to be established this month with an initial capital of $40 million.
Not Just a Side Project - It’s About the Sony Ecosystem
Sony previously told media outlet Nikkei that it aims for US users to use this token to pay for digital content across the Sony ecosystem - from the PlayStation gaming platform to the anime streaming service Crunchyroll - while cutting fees typically charged by credit cards. Sony already has a head start: an Ethereum layer-2 network named Soneium launched in early 2025, where its blockchain partner, Startale, previously rolled out a separate yen stablecoin. For this dollar stablecoin, Sony Bank is partnering with infrastructure firm Bastion to handle issuance, reserve management, and custody.
In Line Behind Circle, Ripple, and Trump-Linked Projects
Sony is not the first player pursuing national trust status for its stablecoin business - last December, the OCC granted conditional approval to Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos, with the list of applicants continuing to grow, including the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial. The move has not been entirely smooth: US community banking associations previously urged the OCC to reject Connectia Trust’s application, and Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the OCC of improperly granting approval to a company she argued does not meet national banking law requirements. For now, Connectia Trust remains a plan on paper - the stablecoin is targeted to officially launch in 2027, once all OCC conditions are fully met.
Reported via Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
