BNY Mellon to launch crypto custody platform
The custody platform will give the bank’s clients access to bitcoin and ethereum
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), the third-oldest bank in the US, is planning to launch a digital asset custody platform, to enable its institutional clients to gain exposure to cryptos.
The custody platform will give the bank’s clients access to bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) in BNY Mellon crypto wallets, which will be supported by Fireblocks technology.
Fireblocks is a unicorn fintech that enables financial institutions to store, move and issue cryptos. BNY Mellon said the platform will be launched later this year.
Additionally, BNY Mellon told City AM that this move will make it the first investment bank “to enter the global digital custody space”.
“Regulatory clarity is improving”
Katey Neate, chief risk officer (CRO) for asset servicing and digital at BNY Mellon, said: “We announced last year that we were standing up for digital asset users. The idea is that we build a digital asset platform, the cornerstone of which is custody that will enable the interoperability of traditional assets and digital.
“I think regulatory clarity is improving, and people are feeling more confident because of that regulatory clarity. It’s still not the Nirvana that we’re looking for, but it’s at least easier to read the tea leaves now and understand what to look for when you’re developing a risk framework,” she said.
BNY Mellon partners with Chainalysis
Earlier this week, on 24 February, BNY Mellon partnered with Chainalysis to help assess broad crypto trends in support of its compliance and due diligence practices.
This made BNY Mellon the first systemically important bank in the world to use the blockchain data platform’s compliance software as part of its risk management programme, according to Chainalysis.
Furthermore, BNY Mellon hinted in January 2022 that it may do something in the crypto space, when its chief financial officer (CFO) Emily Portney said that crypto assets could provide a meaningful contribution to the bank’s revenue by 2023 or 2024.
