The world’s largest custodian bank can now receive and store customers’ bitcoin and cryptocurrency, following a regulatory approval in New York.
- BNY Mellon can now provide bitcoin custody services.
- The centuries-old institution won the approval of New York’s financial regulator to begin offering the service.
- The move comes as institutions attempt to cater to a growing demand for cryptocurrency services.
Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), the world’s largest custodian bank, has launched bitcoin custody services, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
America’s oldest bank said it would begin receiving clients’ cryptocurrencies on Tuesday, becoming the first large U.S. bank to safeguard digital assets alongside traditional investments on the same platform, per the WSJ report.
“BNY Mellon won the approval of New York’s financial regulator earlier this fall to begin receiving select customers’ bitcoin and ether starting this week,” per the report. “The bank will store the keys required to access and transfer those assets, and provide the same bookkeeping services on those digital currencies that it offers to fund managers for their portfolios of stocks, bonds, commodities and other assets.”
The move comes on the heels of other major financial institutions having jumped on the Bitcoin bandwagon.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company with over $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM), announced in August that it would start offering bitcoin trading and custody in a partnership with Coinbase. The offering, available for BlackRock’s institutional clients, would facilitate trading desk and custodial operations. Later that month, the asset manager shared that it was launching a spot bitcoin private trust to cater to a growing demand for direct BTC exposure from clients.
“Bitcoin is the oldest, largest, and most liquid cryptoasset, and is currently the primary subject of interest from our clients within the cryptoasset space,” BlackRock said at the time.
