decrypt.co
State Street is continuing its foray into the cryptocurrency space after announcing it will soon offer its private-fund clients an array of crypto-related services.
To accomplish this, State Street has teamed up with Lukka, the New York-based crypto data and software provider, to expand the capabilities of its Digital Asset Fund.
The partnership will see State Street leverage Lukka’s product suite, including a proprietary built crypto data management solution, as well as the firm’s reference and pricing data.
“The growth in popularity of digital assets is showing no signs of a slowdown,” said Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Digital, a recently-launched division focused on cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currency (CBDC), blockchain technology, and tokenization of assets.
She added that State Street is “committed to continuing to build out the necessary infrastructure” underpinning its crypto services and that the expansion of the Digital Asset Fund to private-fund clients will help to meet customers’ growing demands.
State Street is the second-oldest financial institution in the U.S. and has $42.6 trillion in assets either under custody or administration.
The Boston-based bank has been exploring the crypto space for several years, with notable projects including a digital asset pilot with Gemini, a crypto exchange led by the Winklevoss twins.
In December 2020, State Street led Lukka’s Series C funding round, with more investments in the crypto space arriving earlier this month, when it joined banking giant BNY Mellon in backing the UK-based crypto trading platform Pure Digital.
In April this year, the institution was appointed as the fund administrator and transfer agent of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, one of the several Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) that are pending approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).