Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura Investment Bank, a large Japanese institution, has received conditional approval of its bank trust charter of the United States. This is the first of its kind for any subsidiary of a Japanese financial institution.
The company, headquartered in Zurich and with assets of more than $250 million, applied for a federal charter in January. With the completion of the conditional charter, Laser Digital will be able to custody and manage token, digital and traditional assets under federal oversight.
What the charter covers
Laser Digital National Trust Bank, a newly formed subsidiary, will handle operations in the USA. This subsidiary intends to transfer funds between fiat currencies, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, facilitate cross-border payments, and provide collateral management for crypto and non-crypto transactions. Laser Digital will not lend or accept deposits.
The OCC’s full signature will also depend on the satisfaction of other outstanding requirements, including achieving minimum capital requirements, which the OCC determines on a case-by-case basis.
Laser Digital joins a growing list of conditionally certified encryption companies
The OCC has conditionally approved at least eight cryptocurrency and fintech companies for trust bank charters since December 2025: Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Bridge (a Stripe subsidiary), crypto.comAnd now digital laser.
At least 15 crypto-asset companies have applied for OCC charters as of the beginning of 2025, according to S&P Global figures.
like Cryptopolitan mentioned earlierThe series of charters granted has been criticized by banks.
The Banking Policy Institute accused digital asset companies of “not planning to operate true credit companies” and warned that the OCC is blurring what it means to be a bank.
Since Nomura’s launch in 2022, Laser Digital has received regulatory approvals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Japan. It received ADGM broker-dealer approval in 2023, became Dubai’s first company licensed for OTC cryptocurrency options in August 2025, and opened an office in Tokyo in October 2025 targeting the growing institutional demand for cryptocurrencies in Japan.
The company’s conditional approval adds a US federal banking license to its growing list of regulatory approvals.
Whether Laser Digital clears the remaining capital requirements and gets full signing will determine how quickly it can start competing with Circle, Ripple, and Paxos on US soil.
