The Nomura subsidiary says the charter would let its new U.S. entity custody tokenized, digital and traditional assets under Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (U.S. national bank regulator) supervision.
Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura Investment Bank, received conditional approval for a U.S. trust bank charter, marking what the source describes as a first for a subsidiary of a Japanese financial institution. The Zurich-based company, which the source says has more than $250 million in assets, filed for the federal charter in January. Through Laser Digital National Trust Bank, a newly formed U.S. subsidiary, the firm plans to custody and manage tokenized assets (blockchain-based representations of assets), digital assets and traditional assets under Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (U.S. national bank regulator) supervision. The planned business includes moving funds between fiat money, stablecoins (tokens designed to hold a fixed value) and cryptocurrencies, supporting cross-border payments, and providing collateral management. The company does not plan to offer lending or take deposits. Final approval still depends on meeting outstanding conditions, including a minimum capital requirement set by the regulator on a case-by-case basis. The source says Laser Digital joins a growing list of conditionally approved crypto and fintech firms, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Bridge (a Stripe subsidiary), and Crypto.com, while S&P Global reported that at least 15 crypto asset companies filed for OCC charters from the start of 2025. The development expands Laser Digital’s regulatory footprint after approvals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Japan.