The biggest bank in the country and the first of the larger financial institutions in the U.S. is now accepting cryptocurrency deposits for bitcoin and ether from select investors.
BNY Mellon is now safeguarding digital assets alongside traditional investments on the same platform and is extending the service to select investment fund firms later this week, according to a press release on Tuesday (Oct. 11).
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BNY Mellon formed an enterprise Digital Assets Unit last year and was granted approval by New York’s financial regulator this fall to start accepting bitcoin and ether from select customers as soon as this week.
“Touching more than 20% of the world’s investable assets, BNY Mellon has the scale to reimagine financial markets through blockchain technology and digital assets,” said BNY Mellon President and CEO Robin Vince.
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When the Digital Assets Unit was developed, plans were set in motion to launch the industry’s first multi-asset platform to bridge digital and traditional asset custody. Digital asset technology specialists Fireblocks and Chainalysis were brought in for security and compliance.
“With Digital Asset Custody, we continue our journey of trust and innovation into the evolving digital assets space, while embracing leading technology and collaborating with fintechs,” said Roman Regelman, CEO of Securities Services & Digital at BNY Mellon.
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The platform is anticipating a live launch this week with plans to expand its crypto custody offerings to more clients as regulatory approvals are passed, per the release.
“As the world’s largest custodian, BNY Mellon is the natural provider to create a safe and secure Digital Asset Custody Platform for institutional clients,” said Caroline Butler, CEO of Custody Services at BNY Mellon. “We will continue to innovate, embrace new technology and work closely with clients to address their evolving needs.”
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