Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the country’s oldest bank, is making the leap into the cryptocurrencies market.
The custody bank said on Thursday that it will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset management clients. Over time, BNY Mellon will pass those digital assets through the same plumbing work used by other, more traditional manager holdings – from treasury to technology stocks – using a platform now in prototype. The bank is already discussing plans with customers to bring their digital currency into the fold.
“Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream,” said Roman Regelman, CEO of BNY Mellon’s asset servicing and digital operations.
It’s a big step for Wall Street’s back office banks, who have been reluctant to come into direct contact with crypto markets due to concerns about regulatory, legal and stability risks. But as the prices of bitcoin and other digital assets have continued to rise, they have become more popular with asset managers, hedge funds and other institutional investors.
And the top executives of those companies began asking BNY Mellon and their colleagues to treat digital assets as they would with their other holdings, Mr. Regelman said.