The second oldest bank in the United States, State Street Corporation, entering into a partnership with London-based Copper to offer cryptocurrency custody services to its thousands of institutional clients.
The Boston-based bank expects to be able to provide its institutional clients with an infrastructure that enables the custody of digital wallets by the end of the year. This is just part of the company's expansion into the crypto space, which includes the creation of its own digital asset division.
Established financial service providers are making their way into the crypto industry
State Street's licensing agreement with Copper underscores that even century-old companies are progressively realizing the potential of blockchain technology and products based on it. The new platform will allow the billion-dollar financial service company to hold various digital assets, beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, for their clients.
"The fact that State Street - one of the largest custodians in the world - is offering a new service for digital assets is an extremely important development for institutional engagement in this new asset class. We are proud to be part of State Street's goal to lead the transformation of financial infrastructure." - Sabrina Wilson, COO Copper.co
With $43.3 trillion under custody and administration, State Street is considered the largest custodian in the world, with a clientele consisting primarily of mutual funds, corporate and public pension plans, insurance companies, foundations and investment managers.
Important development for institutional engagement
Secure custody remains one of the main concerns of institutional investors, as confirmed by a study conducted by Eurex last year. Although many financial institutions are looking to enter the space, 67.75% of their clients surveyed said that the lack of custody solutions for digital assets and their security is a barrier to participation in cryptocurrencies.
"As institutional investor interest in digital assets continues to grow, we are building the financial infrastructure necessary to support our clients' allocation to this new asset class. State Street Digital's mission continues to focus on providing the right tools so that we can offer our clients solutions that support both their traditional and digital asset needs." - Nadine Chakar, VP and Head of State Street Digital
