BNY Mellon’s Survey Finds Broader Interest of Clients in Virtual Asset Investment
According to a report by Reuters, Bank of New York Mellon’s (BNY Mellon’s) customers are ‘absolutely’ interested in digital assets.
On Wednesday, 8th February 2023, Michael Demissie, the man in charge of BNY Mellon, shared his thoughts on virtual currencies and their future.
He was attending the Seventh Annual Fintech and Regulation Conference hosted by Belgium-based firm, Afore Consulting.
During the conference, Demissie stated that ‘there is no second thought on the question whether crypto is going to stay or not’.
He suggested instead that a ‘promising future lies ahead for virtual currencies particularly when there is a huge interest of global investors in them.
He also referred to BNY Mellon’s latest survey of digital assets which the bank had carried out in October 2022.
Crypto Scope in the Estimation of BNY Mellon
The survey revealed to BNY Mellon that over 90% of banks’ customers showed their intentions of investing in virtual currencies.
Investors have taken a lot of interest in cryptocurrencies and their investments in recent years. The adoption level for cryptocurrencies is rising and the situation may continue getting better.
With more investors joining the cryptocurrency industry, the adoption level for cryptocurrencies may continue to rise. This would continue increasing the hype for cryptocurrencies and more investors would join the trend in the future.
Demissie has been looking at the helm of affairs at BNY Mellon pertaining to the bank’s virtual asset-related services. He broadly agreed that crypto has a bright future.
He was however of the view that the survival of the virtual asset industry relies heavily upon the formation of ‘deeper crypto regulations’.
He said that deeper regulations are in fact ‘need of the hour’ which can guarantee the survival of the digital asset industry for eternity.
Demissie further suggested that the virtual asset industry is unique and, hence, requires navigation in a mechanical manner. ‘It cannot be left alone on its own’, insisted Demissie.
Why the World Needs Clearer Regulations
He explained further that the existing set of digital asset sector is incomplete as it has no defined rules or regulations.
He insisted that the industry is in desperate need of responsible people who can serve investors efficiently while keeping intact their trust. This would increase the credibility of the cryptocurrency industry.
BNY Mellon was one of the early adopters of digital assets from the conventional banking sector.
Roman Regelman, BNY Mellon’s CEO of digital asset services, announced the establishment of a crypto dedicated department two years ago in February.
At that time, BNY Mellon became the first bank in the world has launched integrated crypto buying, selling, and exchange services.
The bank saw huge potential when it found that over 90% of its clients were broadly interested in virtual asset investment.
BNY Mellon further realized that its customers were also of the view that they needed someone who can they trust, preferably BNY Mellon.
It was hence on the specific demand of BNY’s customers that integrated services were launched allowing its customers to engage with cryptocurrencies.
Since then the bank has been inviting global attention towards laying down clearer and deeper crypto regulatory infrastructure.
BNY’s Optimism for Virtual Assets
Since the integration of virtual asset services, BNY Mellon has been making statements supporting cryptocurrencies broadly.
For example, in 2021, BNY made a statement that virtual assets’ transformation into the mainstream system has been complete.
A few days ago, BNY has appointed a new CEO to its virtual asset service platform. The said position has been taken over by Caroline Butler as had been confirmed by Regelman.
Regelman also stressed that BNY hopes to serve crypto customers as an institution whom they can trust with their eyes closed.
BNY further suggested that virtual assets are rapidly evolving each day, however, they need regulations for expanding in a secure environment.
