Today State Street Digital announced it is partnering with London-based cryptocurrency custody startup Copper to provide the technology for State Street’s institutional digital asset custody solution, which it plans to launch once it has regulatory approval.
State Street is the world’s second-largest conventional custodian with $42.6 trillion in assets under custody. It unveiled its digital asset division in mid-June last year.
“As institutional investors’ interest in digital assets continues to grow, we are building the financial infrastructure needed to support our clients’ allocations to this new asset class,” said Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Digital. “State Street Digital’s mission continues to focus on putting the right tools in place so we can provide clients with solutions to support their traditional, as well as digital assets needs.”
London-based Copper has raised $85 million in funding to date, including a $50 million Series B co-led by Dawn Capital and Tiger Global in May last year, with an extension of $25 million including Alan Howard. Late last year a much larger funding of up to $500 million was rumored but has not yet been announced. Competitor FireBlocks has raised more than $1 billion, and Anchorage raised $430 million last year over two rounds.
Copper hasn’t revealed too many high profile incumbent clients to date, but 21shares the exchange-traded product (ETP) firm uses its custody. Copper also offers ClearLoop an instant settlement trading network that supports 450 crypto-assets and integrates with 40 exchanges.
State Street’s main competitor BNY Mellon partnered with Fireblocks in which it also invested.
At the end of last year, State Street’s Nadine Chakar shared her predictions for digital assets in 2022.
