BNY Mellon, the world's largest bank and the oldest in the United States, will offer custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum to its clients and investors.
Through its new crypto custody platform, BNY Mellon aims to enter the growing cryptocurrency industry, providing services that address the demands and needs of its clients and investors in digital assets.
In a release BNY Mellon's new multi-service cryptocurrency platform, called Digital Asset Custody, will allow the bank to become one of the largest trusted providers of cryptocurrency and digital asset services.
The bank's Director of Securities Services & Digital, Roman Regelman, pointed out that Digital Asset Custody embodies the bank's technological leadership, being one of the first to build a multi-asset digital platform in the banking industry.
In early 2021, Regelman had revealed BNY Mellon's plans for the creating its own crypto services platform, reporting that the bank was adopting blockchain technology to provide an integrated digital asset service to its clients, in order to stay at the forefront of innovation and new developments.
BNY Mellon will custody Bitcoin and Ethereum
The custody of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the most capitalized in the market, consolidates the bank's initiative to provide services to its clients within the digital asset ecosystem.
In 2021, BNY Mellon also created an enterprise digital assets unit to embrace new technologies and develop solutions for its clients. This unit also worked on developing the bank’s new crypto custody platform.
According to Robin Vince, CEO and Chairman of BNY Mellon, the US bank has the scale to “reimagine financial markets through blockchain technology and digital assets.” Vince highlighted the importance of the bank in the current financial system, as it holds a significant percentage of the world’s investable assets.
Over 90% of BNY Mellon clients are interested in cryptocurrencies
The bank's decision to enter the crypto world is driven by its clients' growing demand for cryptocurrencies.
BNY Mellon reported in a recent survey that the 91% of institutional investors are interested in investing in cryptoassets or tokenized assets.
The bank also said that 41% of institutional investors are already investing in cryptocurrencies today, and that many of them hold crypto assets on their corporate balance sheets.
Additionally, BNY Mellon noted that 15% of institutional investors plan to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios in the next two to five years, so despite the bear market, cryptoassets promise to continue growing in the future.
Cryptocurrencies in the banking industry
Blockchain technology is currently driving a major shift in the traditional banking and financial sector. Banks such as BNP Paribas also started offering cryptocurrencies to their clients and investors this year. Others such as DBS Bank have gone a step further by entering the Metaverse.
Continue reading: What are the 10 favorite cryptocurrencies of banks?
