London-based cryptocurrency custodian Copper Technologies has welcomed a team of executives from Bank of America to manage a unit focused on creating infrastructure for prime brokerage platforms, Bloomberg has learned. The move reportedly represents the company's efforts to meet demand from institutional investors who seek new ways to hodl digital assets.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to get daily short digests about events that shape the crypto world
The unit will be led by Michael Roberts, who was head of Bank of America's prime brokerage platform for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Copper CEO, Dmitry Tokarev, told Bloomberg that the unit will allow big players to further move the trading process away from exchanges, "to make sure that a true prime brokerage offering can be enabled in this space."
"There is not a single sell-side institution on the planet, or at least in the top 20, that is not working on something in digital assets," he added.
The hire comes after State Street, one of the oldest banks in the US, signed an agreement with Coppe to develop and launch an institutional grade crypto custody. The deal — which is yet subject to regulatory approval — aims to offer clients services to store and settle cryptocurrencies within an environment operated by State Street. Nadine Chakar, Head of State Street Digital, stressed that the decision to enter into a partnership with Copper reflects the growing interest of institutional investors in cryptocurrencies.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange