Share this article
Nasdaq Halts Plan for Crypto Custody Service Due to U.S. Regulatory Conditions
The stock market operator had said in March that it was putting together infrastructure and regulatory approval for the custodian service.
Updated Jul 20, 2023, 2:56 p.m. Published Jul 19, 2023, 1:08 p.m.
Nasdaq (NDAQ) is dropping its plans for a crypto custody service, which was slated to go live in the second quarter of this year, CEO Adena Friedman said in an earnings call on Wednesday.
In September 2022, the operator of the Nasdaq stock exchange had said that it was putting together the infrastructure and regulatory approval needed for a crypto custody service. The firm had applied to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for a limited-purpose trust company, which would oversee the custody business.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Now Nasdaq has opted to halt these plans and its effort to pursue the necessary license "considering the shifting business and regulatory environment in the U.S.," Friedman said.
The firm will however aim to continue supporting the digital asset industry in several ways, including partnerships with potential ETF issuers as well as providing technology for crypto custody, she added. (Nasdaq , notably, is the would-be listing exchange partner in BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF application, whose filing last month lifted the market's spirits.)
Nasdaq's move is a blow to institutional adoption of crypto in the U.S., where regulators appear to be targeting crypto firms and related services, prompting concerns that there will be an exodus of such firms to more hospitable jurisdictions.
For crypto custody in particular, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has set up a high hurdle for publicly traded firms to get involved. In an April 2022 accounting directive, known as Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, the SEC staff advised firms holding customers’ digital assets that they’d need to record their obligations as liabilities on the companies’ own balance sheets.
To be clear, this accounting treatment would be in conflict with every other asset that custodians safekeep. For example, State Street has over $40 trillion in customer assets under custody. Imagine them having to put those on their own balance sheet? It makes zero sense.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshInBos) July 17, 2023
Read more: Not All Crypto Custody Is Created Equal: Crypto Long & Short
UPDATE (July 19, 13:25 UTC): Adds detail from Friedman's comments and background information.
UPDATE (July 19, 15:20 UTC): Corrects date in second paragraph; adds detail to fourth paragraph.
UPDATE (July 19, 17:00 UTC): Adds background about SAB-121 and Nasdaq's role in BlackRock ETF proposal.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Turkey's Paribu Buys CoinMENA in $240M Deal, Expanding Into High-Growth Crypto Markets
With the acquisition, Paribu gains regulatory foothold in Bahrain and Dubai and access to the region's fast-growing crypto user base.
What to know:
- Paribu acquires Bahrain- and Dubai-based CoinMENA for up to $240 million.
- Deal marks Turkey’s biggest fintech acquisition and first international crypto M&A, the firm said.
- The move taps into the MENA region’s fast-growing crypto user base and supportive regulatory hubs.
Top Stories
