The U.S.-based asset management and administration firm State Street announced the launch of a digital asset pilot project in collaboration with Gemini Exchange, a digital currency exchange and custodian led by the Winklevoss twins.
The new joint crypto project is the culmination of intense research efforts from State Street and Gemini Exchange to create a product to aid investors by providing them a single platform on which they can receive detailed reports of their multiple asset classes. The comprehensive reports will include accounts of all their digital assets, including additional assets like security tokens.
The first version of the platform will document transactional processes for two major cryptocurrencies. The press release, in which the announcement for the new project was made, does not mention which cryptocurrencies are these. But according to all estimations, these two are Bitcoin(BTC)trade and Ethereum (ETH)trade. These two digital assets are famous for their liquidity and large trading volume, and in the first trial run these two will be tested. In the later versions of the program, other cryptocurrencies are likely to be added as well.
The digital asset pilot aggregates Gemini’s digital assets custody solution with State Street’s investment reporting. Both firms have dedicated research funds to finance the development of the platform according to the demands of the clients.
Consistent Crypto Demands from Clients
Ralph Achkar, a managing director at State Street mentioned that the company had been observing small but consistent demand from its clients for a solution of this type. “In addition, there exist numerous legal, technical, regulatory and operational considerations that will need to be taken care of.” Achkar also heads the digital development and innovation wing at State Street and was one of the frontier figures under whose supervision the crypto pilot project was completed.
Tyler Winklevoss, the CEO of Gemini also appreciated the collaborative research project with State Street. He said that it was a major milestone for Gemini and digital assets as a mainstream asset class to have an informed input from State Street to create the system. “With trillions of dollars in assets under management, State Street will never compromise on security — and neither will we,” he stated.
Mr. Winklevoss believes that with the new crypto platform, clients will be in a position to allocate funds more seamlessly from their portfolio through “trusted and regulated financial institutions.”
Experts suggest that in recent times, State Street has shifted its focus towards digital assets. It has undertaken several research projects that aim at addressing the security vulnerabilities with traditional digital asset management systems in the market. The digital asset pilot is a product of State Street’s new interest in digital currencies.
