Bank of NY Mellon to Custody Bitcoin, Other Digital Assets

The world's largest custodian bank and the oldest lender in the U.S., Bank of New York Mellon (BK), has added cryptocurrencies to its custody services, according to a press release on October 11, 2022.

To this point, traditional fund managers interested in holding digital assets – who otherwise rely on BNY Mellon (or other custodial lenders) to perform the necessary back-office tasks related to their usual securities holdings – typically would have had to find a firm specializing in cryptocurrency for custody services.

BNY Mellon currently has $43 trillion worth of assets under custody and another $2 trillion assets under management, according to its second-quarter earnings report. Acting as a custodian, the firm's primary business, usually involves providing less active allocation or financial advice. The bank formed its new digital assets unit last February, saying then that it would "accelerate development of enterprise solutions to service the rapidly evolving digital asset space."

A recent survey sponsored by BNY Mellon highlights already significant institutional demand for a resilient, scalable financial infrastructure built to accommodate both traditional and digital assets. According to the survey, almost all institutional investors (91%) are interested in investing in tokenized products. Additionally, 41% of institutional investors hold cryptocurrency in their portfolio today, with an additional 15% planning to hold digital assets in their portfolios within the next two to five years.
​
"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."

---