BNY Mellon Becomes New Custodian of USDC Reserves Via Partnership With Circle

Circle, a global Internet financial payments company and issuer of the USDC stablecoin, announced today that the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) has become the primary custodian of USDC Reserves. 

BNY Mellon to Custody USDC Reserves

According to the report, the partnership between the two corporations will enable both parties to use their expertise to help bridge the gap between conventional financial services and the rapidly growing digital asset industry.

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO at Circle, noted that the partnership will also help navigate through both traditional and investment markets, as well as cash management for fiat and non-fiat payments to enable the exploration of digital cash for settlement purposes. 

 “Building trust, stability and resilience in the digital asset economy is foundational to Circle’s mission. As we continue to see exponential growth in USDC, the opportunity to work with BNY Mellon is one way we can build bridges between traditional financial services and emerging digital asset markets without sacrificing trust. Together, we will leverage our respective areas of expertise to innovate and build the financial ecosystem of the future,” said Jeremy. 

BNY Mellon has been in existence for more than two centuries, offering financial products and services to businesses. 

Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Pricing and Head of  Digital at BNY Mellon, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the company in its new role as the primary custodian of USDC Reserves. 

“We are at a point in the evolution of our industry where the digitization of assets is presenting new and exciting opportunities to a broad range of market participants. BNY Mellon continues to provide products and services to players in this evolving market. Our role as custodians of USDC reserves supports the broader marketplace and brings value to clients, founded on our role at the intersection of trust and innovation,” he said. 

USDC Fully Backed by Cash and Bonds

USD Coin is the second largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market with its value pegged to the US dollar. In other words, 1 USDC will always be approximately $1 regardless of market conditions.

In August 2021, Circle disclosed that the USDC was fully backed by cash reserves and U.S. Treasury Bonds. The announcement came shortly after the Grant Thornton auditing firm  disclosed that only 60% of cash was used to back stablecoin.