In a live interview session with Bloomberg on May 4, CEO Catherine Keating of BNY Mellon Wealth Management was asked for her insight regarding Bitcoin and the company’s approach to the asset class.
.@BNYMellonWealth‘s Catherine Keating talks about the firm’s approach to crypto. “#Bitcoin which now has a market value of over $1tn, 2 to 3X what our largest banks are. It’s had a tremendous run. You’ve seen us announce the formation of a digital assets group.” #BloombergWealth pic.twitter.com/FlqZWRPdQX
— Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) May 4, 2021
Keating started off by saying that the company acknowledges the advantage of blockchain technology as it offers a fully paperless and automated transaction system.
She noted that the asset class has the potential to dramatically shift the financial landscape, highlighting the rapidly growing market value of cryptocurrencies, the digitization of currencies by central banks around the world, the digitization of other financial assets like ETFs (exchange traded funds) and bonds, as well as the digitization of illiquid assets (also known as tokenization).
Keating stated that they are exploring ways to address the concerns surrounding cryptocurrency as follow:
- Security: Ensuring that the private keys are secure.
- Liquidity: Making sure that the investors spending money on the asset class are given more liberty.
- Volatility: Market for assets like Bitcoin are susceptible to drastic shifts.
The company’s formation of a Digital Assets unit back in February and the piloting of a crypto custody unit were also mentioned to prove that BNY Mellon is dedicated about their integration into the world of crypto.