Major Banks Shift: BNY Mellon Bets on Infrastructure Instead of Issuing Tokens

Wall Street’s long-established custodian BNY Mellon recently sent out an interesting signal—they’re not launching their own token anymore.

At the latest earnings call, one of the world’s largest asset custodians made it clear: “BNY stablecoin” is not on the agenda. Both the CFO and CEO emphasized that what they’re doing is providing foundational infrastructure support for other stablecoin projects, not launching a coin themselves.

Seems counterintuitive, right? But if you think about it, the logic is crystal clear:

Infrastructure > Issuing Tokens

• BNY has committed to increasing investment in the crypto space, including real-world asset tokenization and blockchain payment systems
• They are already providing custody, collateral management, clearing, and other services for mainstream stablecoin projects
• CEO Vince put it this way: “Our value lies in strengthening the entire ecosystem and facilitating capital flows”

Context is Key

A new management team and an improved regulatory environment have given BNY more room to operate. The board has also approved $500 million in cost-cutting funds, with part of it earmarked for digital transformation and AI. Translation: market conditions have improved, and it’s time to double down on the future.

All of this actually reflects a more mature institutional understanding of the crypto ecosystem—it’s not necessary to issue your own token to profit; having a say at the infrastructure layer could provide more stable returns.