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Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High as BNY Mellon Announces Crypto Custody

"Bitcoin is loving the BNY Mellon news. It's a very big deal," trader and analyst Alex Kruger tweeted.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:10 p.m. Published Feb 11, 2021, 1:49 p.m.
BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon

Bitcoin set a new record highs on Thursday after BNY Mellon, America's oldest bank, announced crypto custody for institutional clients.

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The cryptocurrency set a new high of $48,297 during the U.S. trading hours, surpassing the previous peak price of $48,226 registered on Tuesday, according to CoinDesk 20 data.

Buyers stepped in around $46,700 after BNY Mellon said it will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset-management clients.

"Bitcoin is loving the BNY Mellon news. It's a very big deal," trader and analyst Alex Kruger tweeted.

A wave of institutional adoption has hit the bitcoin market this week, pushing prices higher by 22%.

On Monday, the U.S. electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) , a Fortune 500 company, announced bitcoin purchases worth $1.5 billion, bolstering the cryptocurrency's appeal as a reserve asset. Payments giant Mastercard (MA) said early Thursday it is planning to allow merchants to accept crypto payments.

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BlackRock exec says 1% crypto allocation in Asia could unlock $2 trillion in new flows

BlackRock logo in front of a building (BlackRock/Modified by CoinDesk)

During a panel discussion at Consensus in Hong Kong, Peach pointed to massive capital pools in traditional finance as ETF adoption spreads across Asia.

What to know:

  • Even a 1% crypto allocation in standard portfolios across Asia could translate into nearly $2 trillion of inflows, highlighting how modest shifts in asset allocation could transform the digital asset market, according to the head of APAC iShares at BlackRock, Nicholas Peach.
  • BlackRock's iShares unit, whose U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT has rapidly grown to about $53 billion in assets, is seeing strong demand from Asian investors as ETF adoption accelerates across the region.
  • Regulators in markets such as Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea are moving toward broader crypto ETF offerings, but industry leaders say investor education and portfolio strategy will be critical to channeling traditional finance capital into digital assets.