Overview
- BNY, the world’s largest custodian, announced Thursday a plan to set up digital‑asset custody in Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone, ADGM, with Finstreet and ADI Foundation.
- The service will start with custody for bitcoin and ether, with a stated plan to add stablecoins and tokenized real‑world assets later.
- BNY said the initiative remains subject to final agreements and regulatory approvals from ADGM authorities.
- Custody gives funds and banks a compliant way to hold crypto, so BNY’s entry could let more institutions in the UAE store assets under rules they already understand.
- Finstreet runs an ADGM‑licensed trading venue and clearing house under IHC, while ADI supports an institutional Layer‑2 network; the local stack is new, with ADI Chain live since December and a dirham stablecoin launched in February that has seen limited early use.