Nasdaq Aims To Launch Crypto Custody Services In Q2 – Bitcoin News Exchange

Nasdaq intends to launch its custody services for digital assets such as bitcoin by the end of the second quarter of the year. The exchange operator is among the traditional financial firms looking to play a role as middlemen in the crypto sector that saw the collapse of some major players.

The Nasdaq exchange is seeking regulatory approval as a crypto custodian

The US exchange operator Nasdaq plans to launch its own custody services for crypto assets by the end of June. The company is moving into the industry in the wake 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 would allow it to offer such services, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing 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 charter for a limited trust company, which will 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 foray into the crypto economy for the company that operates the second-largest US exchange by market value of shares traded.

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

The crypto winter caused by falling prices also affected banks exposed to digital assets, leading to the collapse of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank in the US

In the crypto market, Nasdaq will join major financial firms, such as BNY Mellon and Fidelity, that offer custody of cryptocurrencies, intermediary services or tokenization of traditional assets to take advantage of related technologies.

Do you expect other major financial firms to enter the crypto space this year? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “To be a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.