After the recent bankruptcies, the exchange group Nasdaq is attempting to fill in the boots of crypto middlemen. Back in September 2022, Watcher Guru reported that Nasdaq Inc. was preparing to launch its own set of crypto custody services. According to the latest report, the services will be launched by the second quarter of this year.
Also Read: Nasdaq Reportedly Getting into Crypto Custody Services
Nasdaq is getting approvals in place
Ira Auerbach, Senior Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, reportedly told in an interview, that the exchange group is “pushing ahead” to get all the necessary technical infrastructure and regulatory approvals. In fact, it has also applied to the New York Department of Financial Services, for a limited-purpose trust company charter.
Auerbach said that providing custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum will be the “first step” to build a “broad suite of services” for the group’s digital assets division. Going down the line, it will also integrate executions for financial institutions.
Different companies from the financial space have stepped up to provide safekeeping facilities. The fall of crypto lenders, well-established companies, and exchanges opened the doors for other giants to step in and test the waters. Back in Q4 2022, BNY Melon launched its new digital asset custody platform.
Parallelly, Fidelity is another prominent name that offers crypto safekeeping services. Alongside, BNP Paribas, the French financial giant, also stepped into the custody game in 2022. The group signed a crypto custody partnership with Swiss digital asset safekeeping firm Metaco last year.
Nasdaq Inc. has prior experience in the crypto market space. The group has provided market surveillance technologies to various crypto exchanges. In fact, it revealed the launch of the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF, which is based on its own index, in Q1 2021. Thus, with the arrival of traditional financial players into the crypto industry, overall adoption can be expected to rise.
Also read: BNP Paribas Signs Crypto Custody Partnership as BTC, ETH Recover