Nasdaq Aims to Launch Crypto Custody Services in Second Quarter

Nasdaq intends to launch its custody services for digital assets like bitcoin by the end of this year’s second quarter. The exchange operator is among those traditional financial firms that want to play a role as intermediaries in the crypto sector which saw the collapse of some major players.

Stock Exchange Nasdaq Seeks Regulatory Approval as Crypto Custodian

U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq plans to launch its own custody services for crypto assets by the end of June. The company moves into the industry in the aftermath of a series of failures such as the bankruptcy of FTX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The group is now working to obtain the necessary approvals from regulatory bodies that will allow it to provide such services, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting Ira Auerbach, senior vice president and head of Nasdaq Digital Assets.

Nasdaq has already applied to the New York Department of Financial Services for a limited-purpose trust company charter, which would oversee the new crypto business, the executive revealed in an interview in the French capital.

The initiative was first announced in September. It represents the first inroad into the crypto economy for the company which runs the second-largest American stock exchange by market capitalization of the traded shares.

The realization of the project will start with safekeeping the leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), before expanding the array of services offered by the group’s digital assets division. The plan is to eventually provide execution for financial institutions.

The crypto winter caused by falling prices affected banks exposed to digital assets as well, leading to the collapse of the crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S.

In the crypto market, Nasdaq will join large financial firms, like BNY Mellon and Fidelity, offering custody for cryptocurrencies, intermediary services, or tokenization of traditional assets to utilize the advantages of related technologies.

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