By introducing custodial facilities by the end of the second quarter of this year, the top stock exchange, Nasdaq Inc., may make another push into the cryptocurrency market.
Other financial behemoths that provide these possibilities include Fidelity and the Bank of New York Mellon.
In a recent interview, Ira Auerbach, the senior vice president and Head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, said the worldwide exchange group will work to get the required permits and establish the platform’s technological infrastructure in the next months.
By the middle of 2023, if everything goes according to plan, Nasdaq might begin providing custody services for cryptocurrencies.
In need to oversee the new business, it has also submitted an application to the New York Department of Financial Services for a limited-purpose trust company charter.
In addition, the largest brokerage firm in the world, Fidelity Investments, and the oldest bank in the United States, BNY Mellon, serve as cryptocurrency custodians.
Keeping track of cryptoassets like bitcoin and ether could be a big step for Nasdaq, but it is not the company’s first foray into the cryptosphere.
In September of last year, it entered the market and created a division called Nasdaq Digital Assets to support institutions interested in learning more about the asset class.
Tal Cohen, the stock exchange’s executive vice president, noted that these institutions have already shown a renewed interest in cryptocurrency and praised his organization for being “well-positioned to promote broader adoption and create sustainable growth.”