BNY Mellon Says Client Demand for Crypto Led to Custody Offering

Client demand for crypto was the key factor in launching a crypto custody offering, said BNY Mellon (BK) CEO Robin Vince, speaking on a conference call following the lender's third-quarter earnings release.

The world's largest custodial bank by assets, not to mention the oldest lender in the U.S., announced last week it has added bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) to its custodial offerings.

“What we've heard from our clients is they want institutional grade solutions in the space,” Vince said on the call, noting 75% of them are either investing or actively considering investing in digital assets, and a full 90% expect to be putting money into tokenized assets within the next few years.

Vince said BNY Mellon considers crypto to be a very long-term play, and he expects full-scale adoption to be years or even decades away. He added that the bank isn't putting a "ton" of capital towards crypto just yet.

Read more: BNY Mellon Starts Crypto Custody Service