Nasdaq Reportedly Forays Into Crypto Custody Services

• Nasdaq, Inc.’s action is probably an effort to profit from the growing market.
• Custody services for cryptocurrencies is a multibillion-dollar industry.

It has been reported that Nasdaq Inc., the second biggest stock exchange, is looking to begin offering cryptocurrency custody services. The effort to join the crypto custody business is reportedly waiting on regulatory permission at this time.

As part of its expansion, Nasdaq is forming a new company called Nasdaq Digital Assets, which will focus only on digital currencies. Tal Cohen, executive vice president and head of North American markets at Nasdaq Inc, has said that the new business would first provide Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) custody services to institutional investors.

Since at least 2018, Nasdaq, Inc. has been active in the cryptocurrency market. The company’s market monitoring capabilities have been used by many cryptocurrency exchanges. The exchange disclosed the February 2021 debut of the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF, which is based on its own index.

Increased Inflow into the Sector

When compared to competitors like Coinbase and FTX, which both run their own cryptocurrency exchanges, the business has opted to focus on providing advanced techniques to the cryptocurrency industry instead.

Nasdaq, Inc.’s action is probably an effort to profit from the growing market for such investments. Custody service companies have also received money from banks like Barclays. The French banking powerhouse BNP Paribas has also entered the custody battle. A crypto custody agreement was concluded with Swiss digital asset safekeeping business Metaco.

Custody services for cryptocurrencies is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is crowded with competitors. Nasdaq’s move is in line with its long-term strategy. To become a crypto industry service provider rather than a trading platform. However, this action demonstrates the increasing significance of digital currency. Financial behemoths are beginning to provide crypto-related services in response to consumer demand. An entry by Nasdaq, Inc. into the cryptocurrency market is anticipated to increase the flow of institutional money into the sector.