BNY Mellon Launches Bitcoin and Ethereum Custody Services in UAE... Countdown to Middle East Market Entry

▲ United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bitcoin (BTC) / ChatGPT generated image

BNY Mellon, the world's largest custodian bank, is launching virtual asset custody services in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The initial targets are Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with plans to expand the service scope to stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other regulated digital financial products in the future.

According to the cryptocurrency specialized media outlet Coingape on May 7 (local time), BNY Mellon announced that it is entering a strategic partnership with Finstreet Limited and ADI Foundation to provide virtual asset custody services at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This collaboration focuses on providing a localized, secure, and regulatory-compliant, scalable virtual asset custody infrastructure within the UAE.

BNY Mellon is the world's largest custodian institution with $59.4 trillion in assets under custody. Coingape reported that BNY Mellon is the first US global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer virtual asset custody services in the region. The company plans to leverage Finstreet's digital market ecosystem and ADI Foundation's sovereign-grade blockchain infrastructure to support the UAE's digital financial hub strategy.

Ajay Bhatia, a key member of the ADI Foundation, stated that this strategic partnership is an important step in solidifying Abu Dhabi as a global digital asset hub. BNY Mellon will initially provide Bitcoin and Ethereum custody services to Finstreet clients and ecosystem, and later consider expanding to ADI Foundation's blockchain-based infrastructure.

Finstreet and ADI Foundation plan to gradually expand the scope of services to stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other regulated digital financial products in the future. BNY Mellon Vice Chairman Hani Kablawi stated that the company's capital markets capabilities and scale will help connect traditional finance with the virtual asset industry in the UAE and move financial products onto the blockchain.

Coingape reported that BNY Mellon has already served as a virtual asset and cash custodian for several virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Furthermore, BNY Mellon launched tokenized deposits for institutional investors earlier this year. This expansion into the UAE is seen as an example of the competition for virtual asset custody among traditional financial institutions expanding beyond the US and Europe into the Middle Eastern digital financial market.

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