- By the end of Q2, Nasdaq will be launching its crypto custody services.
- The exchange revealed its digital assets business plans last year.
- Fidelity and BNY Mellon are among the traditional financial institutions that currently provide cryptocurrency custody solutions.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Friday, Nasdaq Inc. (NDAQ) is nearing the launch of its cryptocurrency custody services in the second quarter of this year.
In September, Nasdaq declared its entrance into the digital assets industry. It will soon be part of established financial institutions such as Fidelity and BNY Mellon that provide cryptocurrency custody solutions.
Ira Auerbach, formerly the Global Head of Gemini Prime, which was Gemini’s prime brokerage service, will lead Nasdaq’s new digital offering. Auerbach comes to the company from Gemini, which was impacted by the FTX collapse.
As per a recent interview with Ira Auerbach, Senior Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, the exchange group plans to secure all necessary approvals and establish the platform’s technical infrastructure in the upcoming months. Meanwhile, President Adena Friedman shared:
The technology that underpins the digital asset ecosystem has the potential to transform markets over the long term. To deliver on that opportunity, our focus will be to provide institutional-grade solutions that bring greater liquidity, integrity, and transparency to support the evolution
President Adena Friedman
Moreover, Nasdaq’s upcoming launch of crypto custody services may be of interest due to its timing. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is closely monitoring crypto-asset custodians and has been actively taking measures to regulate the industry while warning investors of the “significant” risk of loss.
In contrast, certain traditional financial institutions are increasing their focus on crypto offerings. Fidelity, for example, recently introduced a retail cryptocurrency trading platform as part of their efforts in the space.
In the previous year, Nasdaq expressed its vision for its digital assets business, driven by the goal of promoting broader institutional involvement in digital assets and taking a leading role in fighting the growing issue of financial crime within the cryptocurrency industry.
Nasdaq aims to achieve this vision by expanding its anti-financial crime technology to the digital assets arena. The company plans to bring its Verafin and Surveillance product offerings to the sector, providing a range of “crypto-specific detection capabilities” that can help mitigate risks and enable continuous monitoring of anti-money laundering, fraud detection, and market abuse.
Additionally, Nasdaq has highlighted that crypto-based money laundering reached $8.6 billion in 2021, and expects institutional adoption of digital assets to increase with the introduction of trusted names and stricter surveillance measures.
