BNY Mellon Enters UAE Digital Asset Market with Finstreet Partnership

BNY Mellon, one of the world's largest custodians, has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Finstreet and ADI Foundation to bring regulated digital asset custody services to institutional clients in the UAE. The new initiative will initially cover Bitcoin and Ethereum custody for Finstreet's existing client base before expanding to ADI Foundation's blockchain infrastructure.

The partnership plans to operate from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free zone located on Al Maryah Island, with BNY describing itself as 'the first US global systemically important bank to offer digital asset custody services'. The arrangement remains subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals.

Hani Kablawi, executive vice chair at BNY, said the bank is 'uniquely positioned to connect traditional and digital financial ecosystems', with plans to eventually cover stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other regulated digital instruments.