Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is announcing plans to support Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets through its new enterprise Digital Assets unit.
In a press release, America’s oldest bank says the team is now working on the prototype of a platform that will allow digital assets to move through the same network that managers use for traditional holdings like Treasury bonds and stocks.
BNY Mellon CEO of Asset Servicing and head of Digital, Roman Regelman, says the bank aims to provide a secure infrastructure for transferring, holding and issuing digital assets as they go mainstream. He adds that the bank expects to start offering the service later this year subject to evaluations and approvals.
“Growing client demand for digital assets, maturity of advanced solutions, and improving regulatory clarity present a tremendous opportunity for us to extend our current service offerings to this emerging field.”
Wall Street banks have previously raised concern over potential regulatory issues with crypto, but the rising market cap of the crypto sector is prompting asset managers, hedge funds and institutional investors to leap into the market.
Other big financial firms such as Fidelity Investments have already jumped into the crypto sector, but Regelman says BNY Mellon is the first global bank to unveil a plan to offer an integrated service for digital assets and traditional finance.
As of December 31st, 2020, BNY Mellon had $41.1 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $2.2 trillion in assets under management.
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