- Nasdaq announced that it was launching a digital assets services business that would begin with custody of cryptocurrencies for institutional investors.
- Nasdaq’s push comes hot on the heels of other big Wall Street names which are introducing cryptocurrency services.
One of the biggest bugbears of institutional investors has been the struggle to find custodians who could properly secure digital assets in a compliant manner.
And while Wall Street has increasingly taken an interest in cryptocurrencies, citing growing demand for Bitcoin and other digital assets from the institutional market, institutional-grade custodians still elude the sector.
Enter Nasdaq, the world’s second-biggest stock exchange which is placing a big bet on digital asset growth in hopes by throwing its hat in the ring when it comes to custodial services.
Yesterday, Nasdaq announced that it was launching a digital assets services business that would begin with custody of cryptocurrencies for institutional investors.
Nasdaq said it was also considering rolling out trading of digital assets and said the custody of digital assets could lay the foundation for trading services in the future.
According to Nasdaq, it would be able to employ its other capital market services, such as surveillance, market abuse and financial crime software, which is widely used by traditional financial institutions, in an effort to bring greater institutional-grade security to the cryptocurrency market.
Nasdaq’s push comes hot on the heels of other big Wall Street names which are introducing cryptocurrency services.
Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, recently announced that it had partnered with Coinbase and launched a Bitcoin trust fund last month to help its wealthy clients get access to cryptocurrencies.
Fidelity also said it would allow investors to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios in 401(k) retirement schemes.
