Once live, BNY Mellon crypto wallets will use Fireblocks technology to store digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ether for its 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,
said the head of America’s oldest bank, citing rising customer demand, blockchain’s maturity, and more regulatory certainty.
And according to the custodian bank, which now manages over $2 trillion in assets, even cautious customers are looking for entry into the digital asset market. With its new offering, BNY Mellon wants to attract crypto businesses based in the US, like Coinbase and other US-based exchanges.
BNY Mellon has the scope to rethink financial markets through blockchain technology and digital assets, and its reach exceeds 20% of global investable assets. BNY Mellon’s CEO and President, Robin Vince, expressed the company’s eagerness to continue innovating and its anticipation of playing a role in advancing the financial services sector.
Since BNY Mellon is the biggest custodian in the world, it makes sense for them to develop a reliable and secure Digital Asset Custody Platform for major financial institutions.
For some time now, BNY Mellon has been working on a prototype that would enable cryptocurrency transactions to take place on the same financial network it employs for investments in more conventional assets like bonds and equities.
Early in 2019, the bank made its way into the cryptocurrency industry by offering geographically dispersed storage of private keys via a partnership with Bakkt, the first federally regulated cryptocurrency marketplace. As a result, BNY and Bakkt have established a crypto-custody service, whereby BNY’s experience in protecting its institutional customers’ assets will be put to use in storing Bakkt’s digital assets.
However, BNY Mellon was reportedly implicated heavily in the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud. It was revealed in FinCEN papers that the bank handled $137 million in transactions for entities and individuals involved in the $4 billion Ponzi scam.
