Nasdaq to Offer Crypto Custody Services by Mid 2023

The leading stock exchange – Nasdaq Inc. – could make another push toward the cryptocurrency sector by launching custody services by the end of the second quarter of this year. 

Fidelity and Bank of New York Mellon are other financial behemoths that offer such options.

• Ira Auerbach – Senior Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Digital Assets – said in a recent interview that the global exchange group will aim to obtain all necessary approvals and form the technical infrastructure for the platform in the following months.
• If everything goes as planned, Nasdaq could start offering cryptocurrency custody services by the middle of 2023.
• It has also applied to the New York Department of Financial Services for a limited-purpose trust company charter, which is supposed to monitor the new business.
• Other well-known names in the financial field who already act as crypto custodians include America’s oldest bank – BNY Mellon – and the brokerage giant – Fidelity Investments. 
• Safekeeping digital assets such as bitcoin and ether could be a significant step for Nasdaq, but not its first effort in the world of crypto.
• It joined the sector in September last year, establishing a division called Nasdaq Digital Assets to help institutions willing to explore the asset class. 
• Tal Cohen – Executive Vice President of the stock exchange – commented that such entities have already displayed an increasing interest in crypto, praising his corporation as “well-positioned to accelerate broader adoption and drive sustainable growth.”

“The technology that underpins the digital asset ecosystem has the potential to transform markets over the long term. To deliver on that opportunity, our focus will be to provide institutional-grade solutions that bring greater liquidity, integrity, and transparency to support the evolution,” President Adena Friedman added.