On Thursday, USDC coin (USDC) operator Circle announced that it had selected financial institution BNY Mellon as the custodian of its USDC reserves. Founded in 1784, BNY Mellon is one of the oldest banks in America and holds over $46.7 trillion in assets under custody or administration worldwide. It acts as a single point of contact for clients who wish to manage their investments. With the new partnership, BNY Mellon said it will also explore the possibility of using digital cash for settlement purposes. Roman Regelmann, CEO and Head of Digital at BNY Mellon, made the following comment:
“We are at a point in the evolution of our industry where the digitization of assets presents new and exciting opportunities for a wide range of market participants. As custodians of USDC reserves, our role is to support the broader market and serve as clients. on our role at the intersection of established trust and innovation.”
Meanwhile, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said:
“As we continue to see rapid growth in USDC, the opportunity to work with BNY Mellon is one way we build the bridge between traditional financial services and emerging digital asset markets without sacrificing trust.”
USDC is one of the fastest growing dollar-denominated digital currencies globally with over $52 billion in circulation as of March 2022. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the total supply of stablecoins reached $180 billion last month. The US is one of the most regulatory-friendly countries with respect to stablecoins, with Fed Governor Waller previously expressing doubts about central bank digital currency adoption, saying it would potentially stifle innovation in the private stablecoins sector.
