Wall Street’s crypto custody race is heating up. Financial giants including Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Standard Chartered are expanding their digital asset custody businesses. Now, BNY is the latest traditional finance heavyweight to strengthen its position in the sector.

In its latest move, BNY has announced the expansion of its digital asset custody platform in Europe, under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

Announced on October 8, the move gives select institutional clients access to regulated cryptocurrency custody services in Europe. It follows BNY’s European banking entity, The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV, being added to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) MiCA register in July 2026.

The expansion comes shortly after Standard Chartered announced plans to expand its digital asset custody in Singapore. It builds onto the going acceleration on how major banking institutions are building infrastructure to serve growing demand for crypto custody, stablecoins and tokenized financial assets.

BNY’s move is particularly significant given its scale in traditional finance. As of June 30, 2026, the bank oversaw $62.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and managed $2.2 trillion in assets.

What Is BNY’s Digital Asset Custody Platform?

Launched in 2022, BNY’s Digital Asset Custody platform provides institutional clients with infrastructure to securely hold and service digital assets. It uses multiparty computation technology, segregated client wallets and private-key security controls to protect assets.

The platform supports institutional access to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and USDC. It also has plans to expand its range of supported crypto assets and stablecoins.

With its European expansion, BNY is extending its existing asset servicing capabilities into the regulated digital asset markets of Europe. It will be giving eligible institutions another route to access crypto custody through an established banking partner.

As per its official press release, the bank’s broader digital assets strategy also extends beyond cryptocurrencies. BNY is also exploring how custody infrastructure can support tokenized securities, digital payments, settlement and collateral management as traditional financial institutions increasingly assess onchain applications.

Growing Digital Asset Custody Business

The move marks another major push by a traditional finance giant into digital asset custody as institutional demand for regulated crypto infrastructure grows. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global digital asset custody market can reach $2.88 trillion by 2034. BNY’s European expansion comes amid a broader push by major banks to establish a foothold in the sector, with Standard Chartered also expanding its digital asset custody operations. The push comes as crypto native companies like Bitgo continuing to build on the digital custody infrastructure.

NYSE Parent ICE is also eyeing $184B Crypto ETF Custody market with its separate entity Digital Trust.

Interestingly, while BNY and Standard Chartered do not separately disclose profits from crypto custody, digital asset infrastructure provider BitGo reported $77.4 million in subscription and services revenue in 2024, according to its SEC filings. The segment includes institutional wallet and custody solutions, although the company does not break out custody revenue separately.

Thus. the expansion by major banks signals a growing focus on building regulated infrastructure to serve institutional clients entering digital asset markets.