Japanese Banking Giant’s Crypto Subsidiary Applies for US Banking Charter

Group 1 - Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Japan's Nomura Group, has applied for a national trust bank charter from the U.S. Treasury Department [1] - The proposed Laser Digital National Trust Bank will focus on digital assets, offering custody and spot trading services [2] - The application comes as the U.S. Treasury Department adopts a more permissive approach to bank charter applications from crypto firms [3] Group 2 - The U.S. is viewed as the most important financial market globally, with firms needing to operate under increased scrutiny and permanence [3] - Other crypto firms, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Paxos, have recently received national trust banking charters from the OCC [3] - The attractiveness of bank charters has increased following the signing of the GENIUS Act, which focuses on stablecoins [4]