The US Bank – the fifth largest retail bank in the US – is launching a crypto custody service available to fund managers as more institutions race to meet customer demand for cryptocurrencies.
Potential room for many coins
The news, first reported by CNBC, revealed that the US bank has partnered with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) to provide crypto services for Bitcoin, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Support for other cryptocurrencies such as Ether (Ethereum) will be rolled out in the near future.
The new initiative comes a year after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – an independent office within the US Treasury – issued a paper allowing national banks to give custody of crypto assets.
Gunjan Kedia, a senior executive in the wealth management division of a US bank, surveyed the company’s largest clients for their interest in cryptocurrency. Its results showed a growing interest in digital asset services.
In addition, customers wanted the bank to “move quickly” as other financial institutions were already providing crypto services, such as custodians and bitcoin exchanges. Kedia also found that many customers already have positions in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“Our clients are getting very serious about the potential of cryptocurrency as a diversified asset class. I don’t think there is a single asset manager who is not thinking about it now.” – Kedia told CNBC in an interview
Institutional customers demand for cryptocurrencies higher than ever before
The US bank said that crypto custody will be available to institutional managers with private funds in the US or the Cayman Islands, where the Bitcoin ETF has not yet been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Demand has been so high that Kedia added that some clients want to sign custody contracts if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approves a crypto ETF.
The boom in digital assets and blockchain technology in the traditional financial system has had its critics. However, most institutional investors are aware of the potential use cases for their businesses. This is the case with the Swiss Arab Bank who It was recently enabled Its customers store, share and trade XTZ, the original utility token for Tezos.
Financial giant Bank of America was one of those institutions that recognized the potential of cryptocurrencies. as Potato encryption mentioned, the multinational company recently published a report called “Primer for digital assets: only the first half,” It shows that digital assets and the decentralized financial space have grown to such a degree thatToo big to ignore.“
Featured image courtesy of USBank
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