Cowen Inc., an independent American investment bank established over a century ago, is set to become the latest mainstream financial services company to enter the crypto custody business. According to Bloomberg, Cowen has inked a partnership with Standard Custody and Trust Company. The collaboration will also include a $25 million investment in Standard’s parent company, PolySign Inc., which has Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz on its board of directors. According to Cowen, there is a growing demand for crypto exposure among institutional investors, with CEO Jeffrey Solomon stating: “We’re going to be able to help a lot of our …

The Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are quickly moving forward with their joint testing of the use of the digital yuan for cross-border payments. According to Bloomberg, this week, the HKMA staff confirmed that the first phase of testing for the currency’s cross-border use had been successful. The initial tests involved multiple parties, including selected merchants and a bank designated by mainland Chinese authorities. HKMA said that plans for the next phase of pilots are already underway: “We have tested the use of the related app, system connectivity and certain …

A senior manager at banking giant Goldman Sachs in London has reportedly left the company after making a fortune on meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE). Aziz McMahon, a former managing director and head of emerging market sales at Goldman Sachs, had resigned from the investment bank allegedly after netting major gains from his DOGE holdings, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. Though reports did not specify exactly how much money McMahon made from his Dogecoin holdings, sources claimed that it was a substantial sum, pointing out that DOGE rallied over 1,000% in value this year. According to sources, the finance veteran was …

Nebraska lawmakers are moving forward with an initiative that would allow state banks to offer cryptocurrency services. State Senators favored the measure through the first of three required votes in the legislature, with 39 lawmakers voting to advance the bill for enrollment and initial review on Sunday. Introduced by Republican Mike Flood in January, Legislature Bill 649 aims to adopt the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act and create digital asset depository institutions, as well as provide for charter, operation, supervision and regulation of such institutions. The initiative would reportedly make Nebraska the second state in the United States to set up …

The Korea Federation of Banks has raised alarm over the increase in altcoin trading volumes across crypto exchanges in the country. According to a report by The Korea Herald on Monday, the banking association has asked member banks to conduct an audit on the altcoins being offered by their crypto exchange clients. The KFB is reportedly concerned about the potential risks of banks providing account services to exchanges overexposed to altcoins. An official of the banking association quoted by The Korea Herald explained: “One of the criteria that we recommend is the safety of digital assets and that can be …

UBS Group AG is exploring various ways to offer its wealthy clients the possibility of investing in digital assets, anonymous sources claim. A new report from BNN Bloomberg suggests that investment opportunities in crypto will remain limited to “a very small portion of the clients’ total wealth” due to concerns over the volatility of the cryptocurrency markets. Sources familiar with the Swiss firm’s plans suggest that investments in digital assets via third-party investment vehicles could be one of the options open to clients. None of the sources have agreed to be identified due to the private nature of UBS’ plans, …

The National Bank of Georgia said that it is considering launching a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. In an announcement on Wednesday, the central bank hinted at the issuance of a CBDC in an effort “to enhance efficiencies of the domestic payment system and financial inclusion.” The NBG said it would be inviting fintech firms and other financial institutions to participate in the project, named "Digital Gel" after the symbol for the country’s fiat currency, the lari. “CBDC holds the promise to unlock the tremendous value of innovative business models for the benefit of society,” says the announcement. “The …

The Central Bank of the Bahamas is preparing a national push for its digital currency this summer to get more Bahamians signing up for the Sand Dollar. In another move toward the adoption of the Bahamas’ central bank digital currency, the CBOB is now focused on connecting mobile Sand Dollar wallets with commercial banking systems, CBOB Governor John Rolle announced. According to a Wednesday report by the Nassau Guardian, Rolle said that the Bahamian government has initiated a number of measures to prepare itself and the Sand Dollar ecosystem. “There is a focus now on enrolling individuals on those various …

The era of American banks regarding cryptocurrencies as evil might be coming to an end. According to a report by CNBC on Wednesday, New Digital Investment Group has inked a partnership with fintech staple Fidelity National Information Services, better known as FIS, to provide a framework for United States banks to offer crypto trading services to their customers. Patrick Sells, bank solutions chief at NYDIG, told CNBC that several banks have already signed up for the program, with the majority being smaller financial institutions. However, Sells also added that the company is in talks with major U.S. banks to participate …

JPMorgan Chase’s constant love-hate relationship with cryptocurrency has been a fascinating one to observe over the years, especially since the digital asset sector started exploding at the start of 2021. To put things into perspective, between February and April, the total market capitalization of the space doubled from $1 trillion to $2 trillion. As a result of this meteoric ascent, the individual market cap of premier cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) has gone on to become higher than those of established multinationals, with Bitcoin surpassing Tesla, Tencent, Visa, Berkshire Hathaway, Alibaba, Facebook and Samsung, among others. Back …

DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest retail and commercial bank, has announced its first-quarter financial results following the launch of its institutional cryptocurrency exchange in December 2020. DBS chief financial officer Chng Sok Hui said that the bank saw record performance as quarterly net profit surpassed $2 billion for the first time in history, doubling from the previous quarter. DBS’ newly launched crypto platform, DBS Digital Exchange, apparently played a significant role in the bank’s latest milestone, as the platform saw a tenfold increase in daily trading volumes, reaching $30 million to $40 million, DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said. The CEO announced …

In the past, there were plenty of reasons for financial advisers to dismiss Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as a worthy investment, but all of that is starting to change as more institutions become attuned to the digital asset class. A face-melting rally for Bitcoin between September 2020 and April 2021 amplified the need to push beyond the narrative that digital assets are simply too volatile to include in client portfolios. In a keynote address at this year’s virtual Crypto Finance Conference St. Moritz in January, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein outlined six major themes that could shape the cryptocurrency market …