The Oldest US Bank, BNY Mellon Will Offer Crypto Custody Services

The Oldest US Bank, BNY Mellon Will Offer Crypto Custody Services

The oldest bank in the United States of America, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, has announced the launch of crypto asset custody services. The Wall Street Journal published a report on Tuesday that BNY Mellon has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), and is the first of eight financial giants to start crypto asset custody services.

BNY Mellon will launch custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved BNY Mellon for custody services involving crypto assets. The report published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) confirms that the bank is ready for custodial services. BNY Mellon will store the private keys of the crypto asset owner, similar to bonds, stocks, and other types of assets, on behalf of its customers.

BNY Mellon is the oldest bank in the United States of America, founded in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton, and it manages more than USD 40 trillion in assets. In 2021, the financial giant had USD 2.4 trillion in assets under management (AUM). The report by WSJ contributor Justin Baer explains that BNY Mellon is the first of eight banks in the U.S. that have been approved by financial regulators to take custody of digital assets.

BNY Mellon has been into cryptocurrencies for quite some time, and in October 2021 it urged authorities in Ireland to adopt regulatory standards for crypto assets before the European Union initiated the regulations. In April 2022, Circle Financial entrusted the custody of the stablecoin USDC to the bank. The following month, BNY Mellon joined several banks like Wells Fargo and Citi to invest in an institutional digital asset technology provider named Talos.

The WSJ report published on Tuesday reveals that BNY Mellon is using Fireblocks software for its custody solution. It is also using software developed by the blockchain surveillance firm Chainalysis to analyze crypto assets held in the bank. The financial institution has announced that it will start the custody services with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) on behalf of its clients.