America’s Second-Oldest Bank to Launch Crypto Unit

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  • State Street has launched a new digital unit aimed to incorporate crypto into the bank’s current digital capabilities.
  • The bank’s CEO asserts that “the financial industry is transforming to a digital economy.”
  • Crypto adoption is skyrocketing and State Street is making a major stride forward.

State Street Corporation, with over $40 trillion in assets under custody, announced on June 10 that it has launched a new unit focused on digital finance and cryptocurrencies. The bank says the new unit’s primary goal is to address the industry’s consistent shift to digital currencies and digital finance.

The new unit, which is designated as State Street Digital, will be led by the bank’s executive vice president and head of global markets Nadine Chakar, who is also a 30+ year industry veteran. Another persona involved in this new unit will be the chief operating officer of State Street Corporation, Lou Maiuri.

Ron O’Hanley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corporation, stated in the press release regarding this news:

The financial industry is transforming to a digital economy, and we see digital assets as one of the most significant forces impacting our industry over the next five years.

Ron further added that it is essential for the bank to provide its clients with solutions for their digital needs. “Digital assets are quickly becoming integrated into the existing framework of financial services, and it is critical we have the tools in place to provide our clients with solutions for both their traditional investment needs as well as their increased digital needs,” he said.

The new digital unit aims to further expand the bank’s present-day digital capabilities and to incorporate crypto, central bank digital currency, and blockchain. State Street’s GlobalLink technology platform will be an essential part of this new digital unit and will be developed into a digital multi-asset platform.

State Street has been a pioneer in adopting innovations. In 2019, the bank unveiled State Street AlphaSM, the first front-to-back asset servicing platform from a single provider for institutional and wealth management firms. Furthermore, earlier this year, the bank was elected as the head of a planned bitcoin-backed exchange-traded note (ETN).

Crypto Adoption is Soaring

So far this week, we have witnessed a handful of groundbreaking crypto adoption news. As the most historic one, Bitcoin was voted as legal tender in El Salvador.

Moreover, as covered by FullyCrypto, One of the world’s leading brokerage companies, Interactive Brokers, plans to offer crypto to its 1.33 million users by the end of summer. According to Interactive’s CEO, the brokerage’s customers were asking for crypto trading.

According to a more recent update, India also plans to walk away from its restrictive stance towards crypto and assign Bitcoin as an asset class.

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