By The End Of The Second Quarter, Nasdaq Hopes To Launch Crypto Custody

As it joins a growing list of traditional financial institutions that could play the role of crypto middlemen in the wake of a wave of bankruptcy filings in the industry, Nasdaq Inc. anticipates its custody solutions for digital assets to start by the end of the second quarter.

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According to Ira Auerbach, the senior vice president and director of Nasdaq Digital Assets, the global exchange group is moving quickly to put all the required technical infrastructures and regulatory permissions in place. He made this statement during an interview in Paris. In order to manage the new company, Nasdaq has submitted an application for a limited-purpose trust company charter with the New York Department of Financial Services.

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The idea, which was first introduced in September, will represent the exchange operator's significant entry into the cryptocurrency space. The first step in developing a wide range of services for the group's digital assets sector, including execution for banking firms, would be to safeguard Bitcoin and Ether, according to Auerbach.

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FTX exchange collapsed in November as a result of bankruptcies brought on by collapsing bitcoin prices. Traditional financial institutions, such as Nasdaq, are stepping in to replace the favored digital asset market for trading businesses and other professional investors.

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Nasdaq will join other significant financial institutions offering crypto safeguarding, such as BNY Mellon and Fidelity. Others are concentrating their efforts on tokenizing conventional assets like securities in the hopes that the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies would improve the efficiency of trading and processing the assets.