Despite the recent crash in the market, the vast majority of the customers of Bank of New York Mellon have shown interest in making investments in digital assets.
Michael Demissie, head of advanced solutions at BNY Mellon, said that clients are “definitely interested” in digital assets. He based this statement on a research that was conducted in 2022 on the customers of the custodial bank. He made the argument that digital assets are “here to stay” notwithstanding the market crisis that occurred in 2022 and resulted in the failure of many significant crypto firms.
Demissie, who was participating in a panel discussion on bitcoin at Afore Consulting’s 7th Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference, said that “what we observe is that customers are extremely interested in digital assets, generally.”
However, Demissie emphasized the need of a functional regulatory framework as well as dependable services that are worthy of the faith placed in them by investors. He said that it was essential that we conduct ourselves in a responsible manner while navigating this domain.
According to a survey that was carried out by BNY Mellon in October of the previous year, it was discovered that 91% of the bank’s institutional investors are interested in investing in digital assets, and that 97% of those investors believe that “tokenization will revolutionize asset management” and will be “good for the industry.”
In addition, seventy percent of the bank’s customers have indicated that they would expand their use of digital assets if services such as custody and execution were made accessible by recognized and reliable organizations. Another 88% of the bank’s customers said that they are proceeding with their plans in spite of the market catastrophe that occurred in 2022.
During the first quarter of this year, during an earnings call, Robin Vince, the CEO of BNY Mellon, said that the financial institution is dedicated to continue the development of digital assets. The chief executive officer of the bank said that cryptocurrencies are the “longest-term play” for the institution.
When asked about the possibility of cryptocurrency serving as a significant contributor to the bank’s earnings in the not-too-distant future, Vince expressed his doubts. According to the chief executive officer, the company anticipates that the income generated by digital assets would be insignificant for at least the next five whole years.
Vince acknowledged that ignoring digital assets “would be like being the custodian of 50 years ago and sticking with paper and not adopting a computer,” but he added that any investments made in the sector are done both carefully and deliberately. Vince referred to cryptocurrencies as the bank’s “longest-term play,” and he noted that ignoring digital assets “would be like being the custodian of 50 years ago and sticking with paper and not adopting a computer.”
He also addressed some unfortunate events that occurred in the cryptocurrency world in the past year, such as the unprecedented collapse of FTX, which was once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world but filed for bankruptcy in November of the previous year. He stated that these unfortunate events only highlight “the need for trusted regulated providers in the digital asset space.”
BNY Mellon is an American investment banking services holding corporation with its headquarters in New York City. Throughout its history, the firm has maintained a positive relationship with digital assets. The bank was given permission by New York’s banking authorities in 2022 to accept Bitcoin and Ether deposits from certain clients. These customers were picked at random.
Compiled by Coinbold
