Global financial services company The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE:BK) secured an exception from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) contentious SAB 121 rule, paving the way for its entry into the lucrative but largely untapped cryptocurrency custody market.
What Happened: The regulator did not raise any objections to BNY's plan to safeguard cryptocurrency assets for its exchange-traded product clients, without reflecting these assets on the bank's balance sheet, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
This is a significant development considering the ongoing debate around the SEC's SAB 121 rule, which mandates that companies holding customers' cryptocurrencies must record them on their balance sheets. Banks have been critical of this rule, arguing that it hampers their ability to custody digital assets.
BNY clarified that the SEC's non-objection is limited to its ETP use case and does not address the broader issue of SAB 121 restricting bank custody of digital assets. The bank intends to continue its engagement with the Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) on additional use cases through the OCA's 'facts and circumstances' process.
Why It Matters: A TradFi giant, BNY holds more than $50 trillion in assets as of June 30. Its decision to step into the digital custodian market could be influenced by the successful launch of spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year.
Currently, the market is lop-sided, with Coinbase being the primary custodian for most ETFs. Its hegemony was challenged somewhat after Anchorage Digital Bank secured a role as custodian for the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (BATS:ARKB).
This development comes amidst a broader debate around the SEC's SAB 121 rule. Republican lawmakers from both the Senate and House urged the SEC to retract this controversial accounting rule for cryptocurrency assets.
It is the only cryptocurrency-related legislation to pass through the House and Senate, although it was vetoed by the White House in May.
Price Action: Shares of BNY closed 0.27% lower at $71.87 during Tuesday's regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
全球金融服务公司纽约梅隆银行(纽交所:BK)获得了美国证券交易委员会(SEC)有争议的SAb 121规定的特例,为其进入利润丰厚但大部分尚未开发的数字货币存管市场铺平了道路。
发生了什么:监管机构未对BNY保护数字货币资产计划提出任何异议,据彭博消息周二报道,该计划是为其交易所交易产品客户提供服务,而不在银行资产负债表上反映这些资产。
这是一个重大发展,考虑到围绕SEC的SAb 121规则持续辩论,该规则要求持有客户的数字货币的公司必须在其资产负债表上记录这些数字货币。银行对这一规则持批评态度,认为这妨碍了它们托管数字资产的能力。
BNY澄清称SEC的不反对仅限于其ETP使用案例,并未涉及SAb 121对银行托管数字资产的更广泛问题。该银行打算继续与首席会计官办公室(OCA)就OCA的“事实与情况”流程中的其他使用案例进行交流。
为什么重要:作为一个传统金融巨头,BNY截至6月30日持有超过50万亿美元的资产。该银行决定进入数字托管市场可能受到本年早些时候推出即期比特币和以太坊交易所交易基金(etf)的成功启动的影响。
目前,市场失衡,Coinbase是大多数etf的主要托管人。在Anchorage Digital Bank获得托管者角色处理ARk 21Shares比特币etf(BATS:ARKB)后,这种霸主地位受到了一定的挑战。
这一发展发生在围绕SEC的SAb 121规则进行更广泛辩论的背景下。来自参议院和众议院的共和党议员敦促SEC废除这一有争议的数字货币资产会计规则。
尽管这项立法在参议院和众议院通过,它是唯一经过的涉及数字货币的立法,但在5月被白宫否决。
价格走势:根据彭博智商Pro的数据显示,BNY的股价在周二的常规交易时段下跌了0.27%,收于71.87美元。