On September 24, 2024, the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) announced significant advancements in launching custody services for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) after receiving an exemption from the SEC's Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. This exemption allows BNY Mellon to avoid treating the custody of cryptocurrencies as a balance-sheet liability, positioning it to better serve clients holding exchange-traded products (ETPs).
According to Bloomberg, this exemption could pave the way for BNY Mellon to compete with Coinbase, which currently dominates the crypto custody market. The bank manages over $50 trillion in assets and supports 80% of SEC-approved Bitcoin and Ether ETPs through its fund services.
The crypto custody market is estimated to be worth approximately $300 million, growing at around 30% annually, with potential to exceed $1 billion by 2032. BNY Mellon aims to capitalize on this growth as it engages with regulatory bodies to expand its custody services.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin's price stood at $64,380, reflecting a nearly 2% increase over the previous 24 hours.