Key facts
- BNY Mellon will offer crypto staking services to institutional clients.
- The service is a result of a partnership with crypto financial services firm Galaxy.
- Clients will earn staking rewards without transferring assets out of BNY Mellon's custody.
- Galaxy will provide the necessary staking infrastructure.
- This move represents an expansion of BNY Mellon's blockchain-based services.
BNY Mellon announced Tuesday its intention to incorporate cryptocurrency staking capabilities into its digital asset custody platform, collaborating with Galaxy for the service. This new offering aims to allow institutional clients to earn staking rewards on their digital assets while maintaining them within BNY Mellon's secure custody environment. Galaxy will supply the underlying staking infrastructure and act as a design partner for BNY Mellon's ongoing development of blockchain-based services.
Staking involves participants locking up certain cryptocurrencies to support the security and operations of blockchain networks, receiving rewards in return. For institutional investors, integrating staking directly into their custody solution eliminates the need to move assets to third-party staking providers, thereby reducing operational complexity and counterparty risk. BNY Mellon, which began offering crypto custody in 2022, oversees assets valued in the tens of trillions of dollars. The bank has been actively expanding its blockchain initiatives, including plans to transition its core transfer agency record-keeping to blockchain technology and to introduce 24/7 settlement for tokenized U.S. Treasuries.