Yesterday BNY Mellon Investment Management launched its Blockchain Innovation Fund to the Singapore market. It’s a global equity portfolio that invests in companies associated with distributed ledger technology opportunities.
Newton Investment Management, a BNY Mellon subsidiary, is responsible for managing the fund. Retail investors in Singapore can now access the fund, and it is already available to institutional investors and intermediaries in countries including the UK, France, and Germany. It was originally launched in early 2019 and currently has around $75 million in assets under management.
Singapore has taken a supportive but cautious approach to cryptocurrencies. DBS Bank was one of the world’s first banks outside of Switzerland to offer direct access to cryptocurrencies through its DBS Digital Exchange, although access was initially restricted to accredited investors.
The fund aims to capture growth in the blockchain technology and digital assets industries without investing directly into cryptocurrency itself, which could come with regulatory uncertainty and risk.
“Blockchain technology has been adopted by companies in a wide range of sectors to enhance existing revenue streams and to reduce costs while some companies are generating revenue by offering blockchain-related services,” said Singapore CEO at BNY Mellon Investment Management, Paul Liu, according to The Asset.
“This gives our clients the chance to gain direct exposure to companies that are early adopters of blockchain technology, some of which are likely to set the standards for blockchain deployment within their respective industries.”
Other institutions have adopted a similar approach, sometimes investing in firms associated with blockchain technology rather than directly in cryptocurrency.
There are also numerous ETFs that provide exposure to blockchain companies and in some cases digital assets. Last month, Schwab revealed plans for a crypto ETF. Invesco and Goldman Sachs announced other ETFs.
In other cases, banks offer their wealthy clients access to cryptocurrency via funds rather than direct. For example, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are providing exposure to Bitcoin via NYDIG funds. Galaxy Digital funds have also proven popular.
BNY Mellon has previously made venture investments into blockchain startups. Earlier this month, it led a Series C funding round for blockchain analytics provider Coin Metrics. The bank is the world’s largest conventional custodian and in March, it became the primary custodian for Circle’s USDC stablecoin.
