BNY brings digital asset custody to EU under MiCA framework
Key points
- BNY, custodian of $62.6 trillion in assets, has launched digital asset custody services in the European Union under the MiCA framework.
- BNY's Belgian banking entity was added to ESMA's MiCA register in July 2026, enabling the EU expansion without a separate CASP licence.
- The platform supports BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC, with broader crypto asset and stablecoin coverage planned.
- BNY first launched digital asset custody in the US in 2022, making it the first global systemically important bank to do so.
- The custody stack relies on Fireblocks MPC technology and segregated client wallets, stemming from a partnership and investment established in 2021.
BNY, the world’s largest custodian with $62.6 trillion in assets under custody, has extended its digital asset custody platform to the European Union, operating under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. The move follows BNY’s Belgian banking entity being added to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) MiCA register in July 2026, with the bank qualifying without a separate crypto asset service provider (CASP) licence by virtue of its existing banking regulation status.
The platform currently covers Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and the USDC stablecoin, with a broader range of crypto assets and stablecoins flagged for future support. The technical stack draws on multiparty computation (MPC) technology and segregated client wallets, anchored by BNY’s 2021 partnership and investment in custody technology firm Fireblocks.
The EU expansion is notable as a signal of institutional custody infrastructure maturing under MiCA’s passporting logic. Banks entering the crypto custody space via the 40-day notification route rather than a full CASP application face a materially lighter regulatory on-ramp, which may accelerate similar moves by other globally systemically important banks holding European banking licences. The asset scope and counterparty depth BNY brings to the EU market will be the operational variable worth tracking as the platform scales.
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