Crypto Currents: BNY Mellon, ICE, Morgan Stanley expand crypto services

Wall Street’s embrace of digital assets continues its swift acceleration, with BNY Mellon exploring tokenized deposits and NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange confirming a massive investment in a crypto-centered prediction market. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us 2 PM daily for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the Crypto Fly By weekly recap.

BNY MELLON AND JPMORGAN CHASE PUSH TOKENIZED DEPOSITS: Some of the biggest names in traditional finance are deepening their push into blockchain technology to modernize payments. BNY Mellon Mellon (BK) is exploring tokenized deposits to help clients make payments using blockchain, part of a broader effort to modernize infrastructure for its treasury services business, which handles roughly $2.5T in payments daily, according to Bloomberg. Carl Slabicki, an executive at BNY Mellon, stated the technology could help “overcome legacy technology constraints.” The move follows similar initiatives across Wall Street. As CoinDesk reports, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) launched a pilot for its JPMD token in June, and BNY previously announced a collaboration with Goldman Sachs (GS) to use blockchain for maintaining ownership records of money market funds.

NYSE-OWNER ICE TAKES $2B POLYMARKET STAKE:  Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced that it is investing $2B in the crypto-powered prediction market Polymarket. Under the terms of the agreement, ICE will invest up to $2B in Polymarket, reflecting a valuation of approximately $8B pre-investment. Alongside its investment, ICE will become a global distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data, the NYSE-owner stated. The deal may lend regulatory credibility to Polymarket’s efforts to return to the U.S. market after it was shut off to U.S. users following a 2022 settlement with the CFTC.

S&P DOW JONES TO LAUNCH HYBRID CRYPTO-EQUITY INDEX: S&P Dow Jones Indices, a division of S&P Global (SPGI), plans to launch a new hybrid index blending 15 cryptocurrencies with 35 crypto-linked public companies. CoinDesk notes that the index aims to offer diversified exposure to both digital assets and traditional equities, which have seen strong performance this year from companies like Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD).

SHARPLINK’S ETHER HOLDINGS NEAR $1B IN UNREALIZED GAINS: SharpLink Gaming’s (SBET) large holdings of ether (ETH-USD) have resulted in unrealized gains approaching $1B as the cryptocurrency’s price surges, Cointelegraph reports. The company holds nearly 839,000 ETH, representing about 0.69% of the asset’s total supply.

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:

• KINDLYMD TO ISSUE $250M IN DEBT TO ANTALPHA: Bitcoin treasury company KindlyMD (NAKA) said it plans to issue $250M in convertible debt to Nasdaq-listed Antalpha (ANTA) as part of a broader strategic partnership. Decrypt reports that the proceeds will be used to expand its bitcoin holdings and for general corporate purposes.
• ARK INVEST TAKES STAKE IN TOKENIZATION FIRM SECURITIZE: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has taken a stake in tokenization firm Securitize, which is backed by BlackRock and Hamilton Lane (HLNE), according to CoinDesk.
• OPENDOOR TO ACCEPT CRYPTOCURRENCY FOR HOME PURCHASES: The CEO of real estate giant Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) confirmed on social media that the company plans to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for home purchases, Cryptonews reports.

PRICE ACTION: As of this writing, bitcoin was trading at approximately $122,839.70 and ether was trading near $4,599.06, according to price data from CoinDesk.