Despite BNY Mellon’s entrance into Bitcoin (BTC), the CEO of one of the company’s asset management units is still sceptical about major risks associated with the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Francesca Fornasari, head of currency solutions at BNY Mellon’s subsidiary Insight Investment, believes that Bitcoin may not be suitable for most institutional investors due to extreme volatility, low liquidity, governance issues and environment-related risks. In a Tuesday Bloomberg interview, Fornasari said that Bitcoin can be more difficult to evaluate than gold due to its massive price swings, which further complicates its possible reactions in an inflationary environment. “At the end of …

U.S.-based financial institution BNY Mellon, the world’s largest custodian bank and asset servicing company, states that the recent performance of one of its exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, was significantly impacted by its lack of exposure to companies investing in Bitcoin. The BNY Mellon Opportunistic Small Cap Fund (DSCVX) gained 35% from September 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021, underperforming its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index — which produced roughly 41.7% over the same period. Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate the firm laments not purchasing shares in leading business intelligence firm MicroStrategy (MSTR) — which invested billions …

Cryptocurrency startup Fireblocks has raised $133 million in a Series C funding round. The investment round was led by venture capital firms Coatue, Ribbit and Stripes, with strategic investment from BNY Mellon and Silicon Valley Bank. Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, said the cash injection will allow the company to expand the settlement infrastructure needed to onboard new customers as crypto adoption heats up: “While we have no plans to become a bank, we believe our infrastructure will lend itself perfectly to power an entirely new era of financial services.” Regarding his firm’s investment in Fireblocks, Micky Malka of Ribbit …

In hindsight, February can be viewed as a watershed moment in the history of Bitcoin. The entire month could be looked back upon by market specialists and economists, as the markets saw an enormous surge before correcting themselves later in the month. The flagship cryptocurrency asset, Bitcoin (BTC), hit its all-time high of $58,352 on Feb. 21 while finally breaking the $1 trillion mark in market capitalization. On the same day, the second-most prominent asset in the space, Ether (ETH), hit its all-time high of $2,033.08. In February, Bitcoin’s price was a bit of a rollercoaster, almost drawing a bell …

Reports that legacy banks like BNY Mellon and Deutsche Bank are becoming active in the cryptocurrency space, including through custody services, should come as welcome news for crypto investors. Lost or misplaced private keys, after all, are a bane of the crypto world — just recall the Welshman who lost 7,500 Bitcoin (BTC), worth about $400 million today, when he landfilled his PC’s hard drive, forgetting it was the sole repository of his private key. Meanwhile, traditional banks are society’s safekeepers par excellence, so maybe they can improve the crypto user experience with regard to private keys at the very …

While the naysayers continue to wish for the so-called “Bitcoin bubble” to burst, the premium cryptocurrency continues to scale to new heights, seemingly with each passing day. For example, within the same week of Tesla announcing its foray into the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) proceeded to surge by almost $10,000. And even though the market subsequently faced a correction, things took a turn for the better as soon as news broke that BNY Mellon, the United States’ oldest private bank, entered the crypto fray, sending the largest digital currency by total market capitalization on an upward trajectory once again. In …

As multiple banks prepare crypto custody services, holders now have to flip an old Bitcoin saying on its head: are the banks prepared to be their own (and others') bank? Last week BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States, announced they would be providing custody solutions, ceding to pressure from institutional investors. Likewise, documents from December indicate that Deutsche Bank is also planning a custody solution, along with trading and token issuance services. However, while both banks are well-established and have experience handling a wide range of assets, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re prepared for crypto custody. “Digital …

Two global financial giants, BNY Mellon and Credit Suisse, were reportedly involved in Telegram’s $1.7 billion Gram (GRAM) token sale in 2018. Telegram allegedly informed its investors that it was using BNY Mellon and Credit Suisse to move and store fiat currency raised in the GRAM sale, industry publication Coindesk reports, citing court filings released on Dec. 10. A Telegram employee reveals the details in a series of messages attached to the filings Shyam Parekh, a Telegram employee who is expected to give a deposition before the New York Southern District Court today, Dec. 10, reportedly provided details on how …

New York-based global investments company, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), has named Subhankar Sinha as the company’s Head of Blockchain, according to a May 13 press release. Sinha’s role in the corporation will be to work on creating and furthering partnerships with startups, accelerators and other businesses in the blockchain field. Sinha previously worked as a director for the London-based international accounting firm PwC, co-founding and co-leading the firm’s American blockchain consulting practice. After leaving PwC, he created a firm to advise startups on business models. BNY Mellon put out a job offer (now defunct) for the role …