BNY Mellon Names Digital Assets CEO

The world’s largest custodian bank has named a leader for its digital assets division as it seeks to accelerate initiatives in the segment despite the ongoing crypto winter. 

BNY Mellon named Caroline Butler as its CEO of digital assets Thursday. The post is a newly created role for the bank. 

Roman Regelman, CEO of BNY Mellon’s securities services and digital, said in a statement that Butler would lead their enterprise-wide initiatives as the company accelerates its efforts around digital assets and other emerging technologies.

“As institutional adoption of digital assets continues to evolve, we are committed to being a trusted provider of services to the broader financial ecosystem,” Regelman added.

A spokesperson declined to comment further.

Butler, who joined the company in 2020, was previously CEO of the bank’s custody services. In that role, she led development of BNY Mellon’s digital custody and administration platform for traditional and digital assets.

That platform went live in the US for select institutional clients in October.

BNY Mellon had $44.3 trillion in assets under custody or administration, as well as $1.8 trillion in assets under management, as of Dec. 31. 

Butler said in an October statement that as the world’s largest custodian, BNY Mellon is the “natural provider” to create a safe custody platform in the space for institutional clients.

A research report by the bank published that month found 70% of surveyed institutional investors would increase digital asset activity “if services like custody and execution are available from recognized, trusted institutions.” 

Ed Groshans, a senior research and policy analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading, told Blockworks last month, BNY Mellon could be well-positioned to be a leader in the space after events such as the crash of FTX shook the industry. 

“They can really flesh out their business model over the next several months to several years to put themselves as a linchpin of trust in the crypto space from a custody perspective,” he said.

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