According to BNY Mellon’s Chief Executive Officer – Emily Portney – digital assets could create a significant source of revenue starting from next year for the financial institution.
America’s Oldest Bank Sees Crypto’s Potential
The Bank of New York, established in 1784 and operating today as BNY Mellon, is the oldest continuously functioning bank in the past year or so.
In a recent interview, Chief Executive Officer Emily Portney reaffirmed that position. She predicted that bitcoin and the alternative coins could contribute substantially to BNY Mellon’s revenue in 2023.
America’s oldest bank teamed up with Fireblocks in its cryptocurrency endeavors. The latter is a unicorn fintech platform that provides digital asset custody services to some of the largest crypto investment managers, exchanges, and traditional financial institutions. Portney believes the collaboration with such a partner is “foundational to everything we’re going to do.”
BNY Mellon’s CEO touched upon cryptocurrency regulations, too. She opined that global watchdogs should implement clarity in the space, which will be a stepping stone for her bank, considering it is willing to govern digital assets. Portney expects regulators to impose rules during the first half of 2022.
“There are proposals in front of the Securities and Exchange Commission that haven’t yet been approved or whether ETFs can actually hold digital assets directly versus future,” she added.
In October last year, the SEC approved the first Bitcoin Strategy futures-backed ETF in the USA. The development raised hopes that the American financial regulator will also open its arms to the cryptocurrency universe and allow a spot exchange-traded fund tracking the performance of bitcoin, too.
According to the prominent TV host Ric Edelman, such a financial product should see the light of day in the next 24 months.
BNY Mellon’s Crypto Initiatives
Speaking of ETFs, it is worth mentioning that last summer America’s oldest bank partnered with the world’s largest digital asset manager – Grayscale. As a result, the banking giant said it will assist in converting Grayscale’s BTC Trust into an exchange-traded fund.
Shortly after, BNY Mellon, together with five other institutions, backed the cryptocurrency trading venue Pure Digital. Furthermore, it assured its customers that it will “explore new digital asset servicing solutions” once the regulatory landscape developed.
Currently, the bank offers bitcoin custody opportunities to its institutional clients.
