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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Banks in the United States Experimenting with Crypto T
op U.S. banking regulators warned last week that banks should be careful as they capitalize on the popularity of cryptocurrencies by offering related services to clients. Cryptocurrency has become a focus for some of the biggest banks operating in the United States. Among the first Wall Street banks to announce that it would hold, transfer, and issue Bitcoins for its asset management clients, Bank of New York Mellon announced in February 2021. The BNY Mellon crypto wallets, which will be created in partnership with crypto infrastructure company Fireblocks, will allow customers to store Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies. The move will take place in the coming months.
funds. In March, State Street Corp announced that it would offer cryptocurrency custody services through Copper.co, but it cautioned that these services would need regulatory approval. A World Economic Forum report said Deutsche Bank had already developed a proof of concept service for institutional investors to hold and trade cryptocurrencies. BNP Paribas has also completed a proof of concept with cryptocurrency wallet provider
Curv for a secure method of transferring tokenized securities in 2020. This step was a step toward developing an integrated custody solution for digital and traditional assets alike. In 2021, several big banks began offering crypto exposure to wealth management clients, led by Morgan Stanley. According to CNBC, Morgan Stanley began making Bitcoin funds available to clients with assets worth
U.S. Bancorp went live with its Bitcoin custody services in October. The bank uses Bitcoin company NYDIG as a sub-custodian. The bank's services are geared towards institutional investors managing private
April 2022 | Volume 23
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