Nasdaq, the U.S.-based financial services giant operating three stock exchanges, has abandoned its plans to offer crypto custody service, citing the regulatory environment in the U.S. and a shift in the business. The announcement was made by Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman during the company's earnings call. The decision came nearly four months after Nasdaq set Q2 as the deadline for the launch of the service. - At the time, the company said it was working on necessary technical infrastructure and regulatory approvals.
- The financial services giant also submitted an application for a limited-purpose trust company charter to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which would supervise the custody business.
- The firm stated that it would continue to support the crypto industry in several other ways, including partnerships with potential exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers.
- The latest move was considered a hit for the institutional adoption of crypto in the U.S.
Some rivals of Nasdaq, such as BNY Mellon and Fidelity, already started offering custody services for digital assets. - Over the last several months, U.S. regulators have increased their crackdown on the firms operating in the crypto industry, including Coinbase, Kraken, Bittrex, and Binance.
- Most recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed two consecutive lawsuits against Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, and Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange.
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