We’re living in a time where digital assets are moving towards mainstream adoption. From retail customers to traditional banks and financial service providers, digital assets are on the rise. Many of these assets promised to disrupt financial markets and large incumbents, and while they have received widespread attention, they haven’t quite achieved their potential. That said, large institutions are taking notice — 86% of the world’s central banks are exploring digital currencies, according to a report by the Bank for International Settlements. They recognize that despite being in a golden age of innovation, payment systems remain somewhat archaic. And so, …

JPMorgan Chase quietly opened up access to six crypto funds over the past three weeks as it looks to offer crypto exposure to a variety of clients. In the latest move, the bank’s private clients will now have access to a new Bitcoin fund created by crypto investment firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). NYDIG is owned by Stone Ridge Asset Management and the “Stone Ridge Bitcoin Strategy Fund” offers exposure to Bitcoin via futures markets. The NYDIG fund is in addition to five crypto funds that the bank opened access to last month: Grayscale Investments’ Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, …

Banks in the United Kingdom continue to crack down on Binance cryptocurrency exchange, with banking giant HSBC becoming the latest bank to cut payment channels to the platform. A series of HSBC clients reported on Twitter this Monday that HSBC UK had suspended credit card payments to Binance. According to an announcement on the service suspension, HSBC UK made the decision “due to concerns about possible risks” to its customers. “We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to do everything we can to protect you. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and let you know if …

Major American financial services and bank holding company State Street Corporation is expanding its push into the cryptocurrency industry by launching new digital asset services. State Street, the second-oldest operating bank in the United States, announced Thursday that it would provide digital and crypto asset administration services for the company’s private funds clients. The bank will enable its private fund clients to access a set of institutional-grade middle- and back-office offerings that support diversified portfolios including crypto-related features like collection, standardization, reporting, processing and reconciliation. To unlock the services, State Street signed an agreement with Lukka, a U.S.-based blockchain data …

Crypto custody bank Anchorage Digital will be providing digital asset services for the c for seized funds related to federal crimes. In a Wednesday announcement from Anchorage, the digital asset platform said the U.S. Marshals Service, or USMS, “seized some amount of digital assets in recent years” which required a partner in the space to provide certain financial services. Anchorage will be responsible for custodying, liquidating and other actions as part of the forfeiture process. Anchorage co-founders Diogo Mónica and Nathan McCauley cited the platform's "stringent processes and procedures" as likely factors in the USMS decision. According to a 2019 …

Senator and former United States presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren believes that the digital asset industry may be a tool to tackle some challenges in the traditional financial system. A known skeptic of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Warren appeared to have softened her stance on the crypto industry in a CNBC Squawk Box interview on Wednesday, stating that digital currencies could be an instrument to bank the unbanked: “There has been an enormous failure by the big banks to reach consumers all across the country. Digital currency and central bank digital currency may be an answer there.” The senator emphasized that …

Zeno Staub, CEO of Swiss private banking and investment management giant Vontobel, has revealed that some of the company’s wealthy clients have crypto exposure. Speaking to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Staub stated that Vontobel's clients have an interest in cryptocurrencies. According to Staub, blockchain technology will have a profound impact on global finance. As part of the interview, the Vontobel CEO described the novel tech as the “Logic consequence of the general trend securitization because it is the only available technology that can create trust without a central counterparty.” Commenting on the bank’s crypto offerings for wealthy clients, Staub stated: “What …

The government of Kazakhstan is reportedly planning to officially authorize local banking institutions to open bank accounts for cryptocurrency transactions. Several banks in Kazakhstan will soon be officially approved to service companies and businesses providing exposure to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), local news channel Khabar 24 reported Sunday. Citing executives from the Data Center Industry and Blockchain Association of Kazakhstan, the report notes that it is unclear what financial institutions or banks would participate in the pilot project. Cryptocurrency exchanges will be able to cooperate with banks by signing up for the project at Astana International Financial Centre, a major …

While serious institutional interest in crypto is perhaps becoming more of an established trend than an emerging narrative, the focus of big-money players is usually on Bitcoin (BTC). However, assets like Ether (ETH) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are beginning to pique the attention of major investors. For Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), via its SCB 10X subsidiary, DeFi is a major focus point of its current digital asset drive, as Thailand’s oldest bank prepares itself for the expected financial technological disruption of decentralized finance. While other banks are still undecided or only making temporary forays into interacting with digital assets, SCB …

The Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, continues to investigate the issuance of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. T Rabi Sankar, the deputy governor of RBI, said in a speech organized by the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy that private digital currencies could be part of what makes CBDCs ultimately necessary. He felt that the RBI’s development of it’s own CBDC could provide the public with many of the same uses as digital currencies such as Bitcoin, while limiting the average user’s exposure to volatility. He stated: “Indeed, this could be the key factor nudging central banks from …

Major U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase is reportedly allowing advisers to execute crypto trades for more of its clients. According to a Thursday report from Business Insider, retail wealth clients at JPMorgan now have access to cryptocurrency funds. A person directly familiar with the bank’s move to the digital space said all JPMorgan clients seeking investment advice — including those managed by financial advisers, retail investors using its trading app and clients serviced by the private bank — would have the opportunity to invest in crypto. JPMorgan clients now reportedly have access to the Grayscale Investments’ Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin …

Bank of New York Mellon is joining a new cryptocurrency initiative by offering its custody support to a new crypto exchange backed by United States bank State Street. According to a Wednesday report by the Financial Times, BNY Mellon has joined a consortium of six banks behind the launch of London-based Pure Digital, a new crypto trading platform venture that is scheduled to execute its first Bitcoin (BTC) trade in the near future. The upcoming crypto venture came under the industry’s spotlight in April, with State Street announcing plans to provide its trading infrastructure to Pure Digital exchange through its …