Michael Demissie, the head of digital assets at Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) is adamant that the cryptocurrency market fall in 2022 won’t waver institutional interest in digital assets. At a conference run by Afore Consulting on Feb. 8, Demissie said the digital asset industry is “here to stay” as institutional investors have held a strong interest in crypto. "What we see is clients are absolutely interested in digital assets, broadly,” he said, according to a Feb. 8 report from Reuters. Demissie backed up his thoughts by referencing a survey conducted by BNY Mellon in October, 2022, which …

The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on …

BNY Mellon CEO Robin Vince says “client demand” was the “tipping point” that ultimately led to the bank’s launch of institutional-focused crypto services last week. BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank, became the first large bank in the country to offer custody of institutional clients’ Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) on Oct. 11. In an Oct. 17 conference call following the release of its third quarter earnings, Vince pointed to a survey commissioned by the bank this year, which found that 91% of large institutional asset managers, asset owners and hedge funds were interested in investing in some type of tokenized …

As crypto traders debate whether Bitcoin (BTC) is going to $25,000 or $15,000 first, the world’s largest financial institutions are laying the groundwork for mass adoption. The proverbial floodgates are unlikely to open before the United States provides a clear regulatory framework for crypto, but regulators and industry insiders are confident that guidance could come in 2023 at the earliest. In the meantime, megabanks like BNY Mellon, whose roots date back to 1784, are entering the space. This week’s Crypto Biz chronicles BNY Mellon’s foray into digital assets, JPMorgan’s ongoing experimentation with blockchain technology and Crypto.com’s new European headquarters. BNY …

BNY Mellon has launched a digital custody platform to safeguards select clients' Ether and Bitcoin holdings on Oct. 11, making the America's oldest bank the first large bank in the country to offer custody of digital assets and traditional investments on the same platform. According to a statement, the bank will store private keys to access the funds and provide the same bookkeeping services offered to fund managers in other assets, such as stocks and bonds. "With Digital Asset Custody, we continue our journey of trust and innovation into the evolving digital assets space, while embracing leading technology and collaborating …

PayPal-backed cryptocurrency firm Talos is becoming the latest unicorn in the industry, reaching a $1.25 billion valuation following new funding. Talos has raised $105 million in Series B funding round led by a major global growth equity firm, General Atlantic, according to an announcement released on May 10. The funding will help Talos extend its institutional-grade digital asset platform as well as accelerate the firm’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. The raise featured major firms in both the traditional finance and the crypto industry, including Ken Fox’s private equity firm Stripes, BNY Mellon, Citi, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, …

BNY Mellon, a major investment bank, is developing a digital asset custody platform that would allow institutional customers to gain crypto exposure. According to a report from City A.M., customers will be able to store the world's most popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), in BNY Mellon crypto wallets which are powered by Fireblocks technology. However, once regulatory approval has been granted, the service will gradually increase and integrate a variety of tokenized traditional and digital assets. The new service, according to the investment bank, is expected to be offered later this year. BNY Mellon also suggested it will …

The Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon has announced a partnership with blockchain-data platform Chainalysis to help track and analyze cryptocurrency products. BNY Mellon is the world’s largest custodian bank, currently overseeing $46.7 trillion in assets. Chainalysis is a blockchain-data analysis platform that offers services to traditional financial institutions, allowing large firms to manage the legal risks that come with cryptocurrency more easily. As part of the partnership, BNY will utilize Chainalysis software to track, record and make use of the data surrounding crypto assets. The risk management software offered by Chainalysis includes KYT (Know Your Transaction), Reactor, and Kryptos, …

Short term social media data suggests that traders aren't calling for buying the Bitcoin (BTC) dip right now... but the long term picture is much brighter, with separate research showing that 77% of family offices in the U.S. are either looking at, or have invested in crypto. The BTFD data was compiled from posts mentioning “buy the dip” on social media platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, Discord and Telegram by K J Lanaul and published on the Insights Santiment blog earlier this week. It tells a positive story too, in a roundabout way. The research indicated that many traders over …

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway dumped a portion of its Visa and Mastercard holdings and increased exposure in Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Brazil that's also popular among the country's Bitcoin investors. In a securities filing late Monday, the industrials conglomerate disclosed that it had purchased $1 billion worth of Nubank Class A stock in Q4/2021. On the other hand, it sold $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard stock, respectively, signaling a shift away from credit companies to gain exposure in their fintech rivals. Buffett, the so-called "Oracle of Omaha," is popular for his cautious approach …

Bank of New York Mellon is joining a new cryptocurrency initiative by offering its custody support to a new crypto exchange backed by United States bank State Street. According to a Wednesday report by the Financial Times, BNY Mellon has joined a consortium of six banks behind the launch of London-based Pure Digital, a new crypto trading platform venture that is scheduled to execute its first Bitcoin (BTC) trade in the near future. The upcoming crypto venture came under the industry’s spotlight in April, with State Street announcing plans to provide its trading infrastructure to Pure Digital exchange through its …

The bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), America’s oldest bank, has signed an agreement with cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments to provide a set of services to its flagship Bitcoin (BTC) investment product. Grayscale officially announced Tuesday that it selected BNY Mellon as an asset servicing provider for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a major digital currency investment product providing indirect exposure to Bitcoin. BNY Mellon is also expected to provide transfer agency and exchange-traded fund-related services for the GBTC upon its conversion to an exchange-traded fund, or ETF, Grayscale noted. As part of the agreement, BNY Mellon will provide …