Nasdaq Rolls Out Cryptocurrency Service Focused on Institutional Investors

The half-a-century-old financial service giant announced today the formation of a new unit dedicated to the growing cryptocurrency industry.

Dubbed Nasdaq Digital Assets, it aims to facilitate the entrance of more institutional participants wanting to explore the asset class.

• Bloomberg first broke the story, indicating that Nasdaq hired Gemini’s former broker services head – Ira Auerbach – to run the new department, citing Tal Cohen – the Wall Street giant’s executive vice president.
• The follow-up press release from the company reads that the new product “underpins” its ambition to “advance and help facilitate broader institutional participation in digital assets by providing trusted and institutional-grade solutions, focused on enhanced custody, liquidity, and integrity.”
• The aforementioned features aim to address some of the industry challenges around availability, efficiency, and connectivity, the PR said.
• Nasdaq also promised an innovative tech offering that will “provide a high degree of accessibility and scalability without compromising security,” which will “bring together the best attributes of hot and cold crypto wallets.”
• Nevertheless, the company said its latest product will still need to receive regulatory approval in applicable jurisdictions.
• Cohen also outlined the growing demand for cryptocurrency services by institutions and large investors and noted that his company is “well-positioned to accelerate broader adoption and drive sustainable growth.”

“The technology that underpins the digital asset ecosystem has the potential to transform markets over the long-term. To deliver on that opportunity, our focus will be to provide institutional-grade solutions that bring greater liquidity, integrity, and transparency to support the evolution.” – said President and CEO of Nasdaq – Adena Friedman.