Michael Demissie, head of digital assets at BNY Mellon, asserts that the digital asset business is not going away, despite the majority of the crypto market being down 60 percent from all-time highs.
The head of digital assets at Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), Michael Demissie, is convinced that the 2022 cryptocurrency market meltdown will not deter institutional interest in digital assets.
Demissie said on February 8 at a conference organised by Afore Consulting that the digital asset business is “here to stay” due to institutional investors’ high interest in cryptocurrencies.
According to a Feb. 8 Reuters story, he stated, “What we observe is that customers are quite interested in digital assets in general.”
Demissie supported his claims by citing a BNY Mellon poll done in October, which revealed that 91% of custodial bank customers are interested in investing in blockchain-based tokenized products.
The poll also revealed that 86% of institutional investors are following a “buy and hold” approach, suggesting that they see the cryptocurrency market as a long-term investment opportunity.
88% of individuals questioned said that the substantial cryptocurrency market decline in 2022 has not altered their long-term investment objectives in the digital asset industry.
Demissie said that further work was required in Washington, D.C. so that industry participants could go ahead with greater regulatory certainty.
“We must have clear rules and regulations for the road. We need accountable actors who can provide dependable services worthy of investor confidence.”
“It is essential that we manage this area responsibly,” he said. Caroline Butler was appointed CEO of Digital Assets on February 2 by BNY Mellon to assist drive the next wave of client adoption of digital assets. She had served as the CEO of custodial services.
BNY Mellon created its own digital custody platform in October, allowing select institutional customers to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether. The appointment comes as a result.
Previously, in February 2022, BNY Mellon announced a cooperation with the on-chain measurement platform Chainalysis to assist with the tracking and analysis of crypto assets.
In recent times, BNY Mellon is not the only major bank making efforts in the digital asset business. Several crypto firms were harmed by FTX’s disastrous collapse in November, and Goldman Sachs allegedly indicated an interest in acquiring them.
While JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon is not a fan of Bitcoin, the company has recently experimented with blockchain-based services. In November, the company completed its first international transaction utilizing decentralized financing on a public blockchain.
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