Bank of New York Mellon: ‘Clients Are Absolutely Interested in Digital Assets’

Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has revealed that its clients “are absolutely interested in digital assets.” Emphasizing the need for clear crypto regulation, the bank’s head of digital assets noted: “We need responsible actors who can offer reliable services that live up to investors’ trust.”

Bank of New York Mellon’s head of digital assets, Michael Demissie, said Wednesday at Afore Consulting’s 7th Annual Fintech and Regulation Conference that digital assets are “here to stay,” Reuters reported. The executive was quoted as saying:

What we see is clients are absolutely interested in digital assets, broadly.

Demissie cited a BNY Mellon client survey conducted in October last year which showed that more than 90% of clients expected to invest in tokenized assets in the near future.

The bank’s head of digital assets added that deeper crypto regulation is required, the publication conveyed. “It’s important that we navigate this space in a responsible way,” he stressed, elaborating:

We absolutely need clear regulation and rules for the road. We need responsible actors who can offer reliable services that live up to investors’ trust.

BNY Mellon was among the first banks to enter the crypto space. The bank announced in February 2021 that it has formed a new digital assets unit to build the industry’s “first multi-asset digital platform.” Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at BNY Mellon, detailed at the time: “BNY Mellon is proud to be the first global bank to announce plans to provide an integrated service for digital assets … Growing client demand for digital assets, maturity of advanced solutions, and improving regulatory clarity present a tremendous opportunity for us to extend our current service offerings to this emerging field.” In September 2021, the bank wrote: “Digital assets have clearly entered the mainstream.”

Last week, the bank appointed Caroline Butler as the CEO of its digital assets division. Regelman commented:

As institutional adoption of digital assets continues to evolve, we are committed to being a trusted provider of services to the broader financial ecosystem.

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