By Sam Boughedda
America's oldest bank, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) (NYSE:BK), said Tuesday that select clients can now hold and transfer bitcoin and ether.
The company has now launched its Digital Asset Custody platform in the U.S., which it says supports client demand for a provider of traditional and digital asset servicing.
In 2021, the bank formed an enterprise Digital Assets Unit in order to develop digital asset technology solutions. It has plans to launch the industry's first multi-asset platform that "bridges digital and traditional asset custody."
Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal said BNY Mellon had gained approval from New York's financial regulator in the fall and can receive "select customers" bitcoin and ether 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 Robin Vince, Chief Executive Officer and President at BNY Mellon.
BNY Mellon said there is significant institutional demand for a financial infrastructure able to accommodate both traditional and digital assets. According to a sponsored survey, 91% of institutional investors are interested in investing in tokenized products, while 41% of institutional investors already hold cryptocurrency in their portfolio.
BNY Mellon is the world's largest custodian bank, and as of June 30, it had $43 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $1.9 trillion in assets under management.