State Street, one of the oldest American banks, has partnered with New York-based Lukka to launch cryptocurrency services for individual clients.
Lukka will act as a data and software provider. In addition to the Lukka toolbox, the bank will also use its own solution for managing information about digital assets, as well as data on their rates.
Nadine Chakar, Head of Cryptocurrencies at State Street, said the bank is not seeing a decline in the popularity of cryptocurrencies among customers. On the contrary, the financial giant is ready to shape the infrastructure for the development of digital currencies to meet the growing needs of customers.
State Street opened a cryptocurrency division in June. Its main focus is on cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, blockchain technology, and asset tokenization. State Street manages assets worth $ 42.6 billion. The bank has been exploring the cryptocurrency space for several years, collaborating with industry projects.
In 2019, State Street, together with the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, led by the Winklevoss brothers, launched a pilot project to compile tax reports for cryptocurrencies stored in the Gemini Custody custody service. In December 2020, State Street spearheaded the Lukka Series C funding round, investing in the development of the cryptocurrency industry. Also this month, State Street, along with other major bank BNY Mellon, joined the UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform Pure Digital.
In April 2021, State Street was appointed fund administrator and transfer agent for the VanEck Bitcoin Trust. It is one of the Bitcoin ETFs pending approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
