BNY Mellon Continues Focus on Crypto and Its Underlying Ledger Technology

Robin Vince, CEO of BNY Mellon, the world’s oldest continuously operating bank, said on Friday’s earnings call that his organization will continue to explore digital assets, albeit cautiously. It was made clear that The CEO has identified cryptocurrency as the bank’s “long-term strategy.”

BNY Mellon primarily interested in ‘broader opportunities offered by digital assets’

BNY Mellon CEO Robin Vince reiterated that digital assets should remain a key focus for his bank. However, Vince said he would not focus on cryptocurrencies per se, but on the “broader opportunities that exist across digital assets and distributed ledger technology.”

Mellon’s CEO also said that the catastrophes that have rocked the broader cryptocurrency industry throughout 2022 (perhaps the biggest being the recent FTX collapse) have led to the “need for trusted and regulated providers in the digital asset space.” expressed his belief that it only emphasizes. BNY Mellon officially entered the digital asset custody business with the launch of its dedicated platform last October.

In a phone call, Vince said he doesn’t believe cryptocurrencies will become a major source of revenue for banks in the near future.The CEO said digital assets will likely be insignificant in terms of revenue for another five years. I expect it to be something. Calling cryptocurrencies a “long-term strategy” for banks, Vince said ignoring digital assets was “like being a janitor 50 years ago, sticking to paper and not employing computers.” Although admittedly, the investments made in this area are made with caution and purposefulness.

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Leading Institutions Growing in Interest in Digital Assets

Despite the “crypto winter,” 2022 will see many major traditional financial institutions begin to get involved in the sector, sharing Vince’s opinion that ignoring digital assets is unwise. I have proved that. Perhaps the two most prominent institutions interested in cryptocurrencies (primarily Bitcoin) are BlackRock and Fidelity.

Already in April 2021, it was reported that BlackRock was secretly trading BTC futures, and by May, CEO Larry Fink, a former digital asset skeptic, had announced that BlackRock would be trading cryptocurrencies. We have made it clear to our shareholders that we are in the process of researching it. By August 2022, BlackRock reached a landmark agreement with his Coinbase to begin offering institutional investors spot his direct exposure to Bitcoin.

Fidelity, on the other hand, dates back to at least 2014 with Bitcoin. But when it comes to digital assets, we’ve made leaps and bounds over the previous year as well. In September, Fidelity announced plans to launch cryptocurrency offerings to 34 million retail customers, despite pressure from a group of U.S. Senators for three separate opportunities in 2022. We maintained our Bitcoin offering on our 401(k).

Do you think more large banks and traditional financial institutions will start handling digital assets in 2023? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. he has a bachelor’s degree He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Booth earned his MBA from the School of Business. Tim is a senior associate on the investment team in RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm that specializes in sensing, protection and control solutions.