Laser Digital, a digital asset company backed by Nomura Financial Group, has applied for a U.S. trust bank charter, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 27 local time, citing the Financial Times.
If its application submitted to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is approved, Laser Digital would be able to offer cryptocurrency trading at the federal level without state-by-state licences. It does not plan to take customer deposits. The OCC approval process could take more than 1 year, and final approval is granted only after it demonstrates sufficient capital and operational reliability following initial approval.
Laser Digital was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Switzerland. It has received regulatory approvals in Switzerland and Dubai, among other places. Under U.S. President Donald Trump's deregulation policies, cryptocurrency firms are actively pursuing bank charters.
There is also pushback from traditional finance. The American Bankers Association (ABA) has conveyed concerns to the OCC that digital asset firms entering banking could threaten the existing financial system.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr