MicroStrategy President Michael Saylor has fueled speculation by saying that “credible rumors” suggest one or more major U.S. banks may soon offer Bitcoin (BTC) custody services.
If true, this would be a major breakthrough for traditional financial institutions looking to enter the institutional crypto custody space.
One of these institutions, the largest U.S. custodian bank BNY Mellon, was recently identified in public testimony before the Wyoming Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology, and Digital Innovation. The testimony revealed that BNY Mellon had received an “exemption” from complying with the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, which applies accounting guidelines to cryptocurrency custodians.
In a federal update on Monday, Chris Land, general counsel to U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, said the SEC and other regulators have cleared the way for BNY Mellon to provide institutional digital asset custody services.
“BNY wants to get more involved in crypto custody,” Land said. He explained that while the bank initially faced challenges with SAB 121, the SEC granted an exception that allowed BNY to conduct crypto services.
