BNY Mellon joins State Street to offer new cryptocurrency exchange
Bank of New York Mellon is joining a new initiative by offering its custody support to a new cryptocurrency exchange backed by the American investment bank State Street.
According to the report by Financial Times, BNY Mellon has joined an allience 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 trade in the near future.
The crypto venture came into spotlight in April, as State Street announced plans to provide its trading infrastructure to Pure Digital exchange through its foreign exchange technology subsidiary Currenex.
The news crypto trading platform is expected to be fully automated over-the-counter market for cryptocurrencies, which will be featuring physical delivery and bank custody as well.
BNY Mellon and State Street, alongside other unnamed banks in the alliance, will create a cash cryptocurrency trading venue in a bid to compete against larger industry players, according to the report.
“We have spoken to all the top-tier banks but we think custody banks were some of the first to see demand, so they are now more advanced,” said Lauren Kile, the CEO of Pure Digital.
Pure Digital co-founder Campbell Adams noted that the firm expects to roll out trading within a week with the first trade tentatively involving a Bitcoin trade. Adams also stated that the exchange is not worried about collaborating with banking institutions, expressing confidence that the bank's contribution is important for the industry’s adoption. “The crypto market needs banks, I don’t think it can scale without them,” he said.
The latest news marked another milestone for cryptocurrency adoption by financial institutions in the United States, with both BNY Mellon and State Street becoming increasingly engaged in the industry. After announcing crypto custody plans in February, BNY Mellon continued moving into crypto, last week becoming an ETF service provider for major crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments.
American investment bank State Street is known for its digital currency collaboration with Winklevoss’ Bitcoin exchange Gemini. Last month, the bank launched a dedicated digital finance division focusing on cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and central bank digital currencies.
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