By the end of June, U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq intends to introduce its own custody services for digital assets. After a string of setbacks, including the collapse of FTX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, the firm enters the market.
Ira Auerbach, senior vice president and head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, was quoted by Bloomberg on Friday as saying that the organization is now seeking to secure the required regulatory clearances from agencies that would let it offer such services.
The CEO said in an interview in the French capital that Nasdaq has already submitted an application to the New York Department of Financial Services for a limited-purpose trust company license, which would regulate the new crypto firm.
In September, the proposal was first made public. The business, which operates the second-largest American stock exchange by market capitalization of the traded shares, sees this as its first entry into the crypto economy.
The idea will be realized by first securing the two most popular cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), and then by extending the range of services provided by the group’s digital assets division. The goal is to eventually provide financial institutions execution.
Banks exposed to digital assets were also impacted by the crypto winter brought on by dropping values, which resulted in the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank in the United States.
By offering custody for cryptocurrencies, intermediary services, or the tokenization of traditional assets in the cryptocurrency market, Nasdaq will join other major financial institutions like BNY Mellon and Fidelity in making use of the advantages of related technology.