The BNY Mellon is one of the traditional financial institutions still showing interest in exploring the digital asset space despite the recent plunge in crypto prices. In an earnings call on Friday, the firm’s CEO, Robin Vince, revealed that digital assets were the “longest-term play” for banking institutions.
BNY Mellon CEO acknowledges the benefits of digital assets
Vince noted that BNY Mellon, one of the world’s oldest banks, would continue adapting to technological changes. He opined that the bank believed that it was important to participate in the digital asset space in case the sector emerges as one of the key pillars of the financial system in the future.
Vince added that the banks ignoring the growth of the crypto asset industry was similar to “being the custodian of 50 years ago and sticking with paper and not adopting a computer… that’s not going to be us.”
BNY Mellon is among the traditional banks that are not hesitating to dip their toes in digital assets. In 2022, the bank obtained approval from financial regulators in New York to get Bitcoin and Ether deposits for select customers. The institution is also working alongside Chainalysis and Fireblocks in its push to offer crypto custody services.
BNY Mellon provides access to Digital Asset Fund Services and Digital Asset Custody products. The Digital Asset Fund Services product offers access to around 19 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
However, BNY Mellon is not the only major player investing in the space. Fidelity allowed users to access retail crypto accounts in November. Fidelity also filed metaverse trademark applications in December last month.
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, also unveiled a private Bitcoin trust in August last year. The asset management company also released a crypto and blockchain ETF in Europe.
JPMorgan CEO calls crypto a Ponzi
While the BNY Mellon CEO sees the potential of digital assets emerging as key pillars of the financial industry in the future, the CEO of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, believes otherwise. Dimon has said that Bitcoin is a “decentralized Ponzi scheme.
Dimon has historically been a critic of cryptocurrencies. in 2017, he said that Bitcoin was a “fraud” and threatened to fire any JPMorgan trader caught trading cryptocurrencies. However, Dimon’s stance in the sector has softened, and he has previously said that blockchain technology has value.
While Dimon is a critic of cryptocurrencies, JPMorgan has not shied away from joining the traditional financial institutions that are showing interest in the sector. JPMorgan has doubled down on its interest in the crypto space in recent years.
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The interest of financial institutions in the blockchain space increased amid the intense bull market seen in 2021. However, most of 2022 was marked by a significant drop in crypto prices and the collapse of several crypto firms, which slowed down the rate at which these banks are adapting to the digital asset space due to regulatory attention.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.