TheBlock
Bank of New York Mellon is expanding its crypto custody footprint into the United Arab Emirates through a partnership with Finstreet and the ADI Foundation, the bank said Thursday, bringing institutional-grade bitcoin and ether custody to clients operating inside the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
The trio will initially custody BTC and ETH for Finstreet's client base, with a roadmap that explicitly extends into stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and other regulated digital instruments sitting on ADI Foundation's blockchain rails. BNY executive vice chair Hani Kablawi framed the move as the UAE entering a "new phase of financial development," with the bank positioning itself as the regulated plumbing for that build-out.
Why it matters
BNY is the largest custodian bank in the world, overseeing $59.4 trillion in assets under custody or administration as of March 31, 2026, and serving more than 90% of Fortune 100 companies. Putting a regulated crypto custody product into ADGM — one of the few jurisdictions globally with a purpose-built digital-asset regulatory framework — is a legitimising signal Gulf institutional capital has been waiting on. The partnership also gives BNY a foothold in a region where sovereign and family-office allocations to digital assets have accelerated faster than in the US or EU.
The UAE launch slots into a broader BNY digital-asset build-out: a tokenized deposit service activated in January for institutional clients, and a tokenized product issued last month by OpenEden that gave outside investors their first on-chain access to a BNY-managed short-dated high-yield bond strategy. Custody in ADGM is the third leg of that stool, and the one that most clearly targets balance-sheet allocators rather than crypto-native funds.
Market impact
The immediate read is structural rather than price-moving — BNY is not buying bitcoin, it is holding other people's.
Frequently asked questions
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What is BNY Mellon launching in Abu Dhabi?
BNY is partnering with Finstreet and the ADI Foundation to offer institutional-grade bitcoin and ether custody to clients operating inside the Abu Dhabi Global Market, with a roadmap extending into stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.
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Why is BNY's move into the UAE significant for crypto?
BNY oversees $59.4 trillion in assets under custody and serves more than 90% of Fortune 100 companies, making it the largest custodian bank in the world. Putting a regulated crypto custody product into ADGM legitimises digital-asset exposure for Gulf institutional capital that has been waiting on a Tier-1 US…
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Which cryptocurrencies will BNY custody in the UAE?
The initial product covers bitcoin and ether for Finstreet's clients. The partners have stated they will progressively expand into stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and other regulated digital instruments sitting on ADI Foundation's blockchain rails.
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What is the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)?
ADGM is a financial free zone in the UAE with its own purpose-built regulatory framework for digital assets. It is one of the few jurisdictions globally with rules specifically designed to onboard institutional crypto and tokenization activity.
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How does this fit BNY Mellon's broader crypto strategy?
The ADGM launch is the third leg of a wider BNY digital-asset build-out: a tokenized deposit service activated in January 2026, a tokenized product issued by OpenEden last month giving outside investors on-chain access to a BNY-managed high-yield bond strategy, and now regulated crypto custody in the Gulf.
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