Nasdaq will provide crypto custody by Q2

Bloomberg reports that the global trading exchange Nasdaq Inc. is preparing to introduce custody services for digital assets by the end of the second quarter of 2018.

Bloomberg reported that the exchange group has requested a limited-purpose trust company charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, which would regulate the new firm.

Ira Auerbach, senior vice president of Nasdaq Digital Assets and head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, reportedly disclosed this in a Paris interview, stating that the organization is committed to ensuring that all regulatory approvals and technical infrastructure are in place.

The initiative, first revealed in September, would be the exchange operator’s first big foray into the cryptocurrency business.

Auerbach reportedly revealed that the first step for Nasdaq’s digital assets division will be to secure Bitcoin and Ether, with eventual plans to build a comprehensive suite of services, including execution for financial institutions.

With conventional financial institutions moving up to fill the void left by crypto industry bankruptcies, Nasdaq’s presence may transform the industry.

Its prominence and presence on the global exchange market might bolster institutional investors’ trust in the cryptocurrency market, opening the road for other conventional financial institutions to follow suit.

Nasdaq will join BNY Mellon and Fidelity as prominent financial institutions providing cryptocurrency storage.

In 2022, it was claimed that America’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon, had offered cryptocurrency services.

In 2021, the 238-year-old bank established an enterprise digital assets unit to develop crypto solutions and a bridge platform between digital and traditional asset custody.