Global securities marketplace Nasdaq has announced that it is halting the launch of its proprietary cryptocurrency custody service which it planned to roll out towards the end of the second quarter of this year.

As announced by Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman in the firm’s Q2 results call, the launch has been paused amid growing regulatory risks in the United States:

“This quarter, considering the shifting business and regulatory environment in the United States, we have made the decision to halt our launch of the U.S. digital assets custodian business and our related efforts to pursue relevant license.”

Yet, Friedman highlighted the company’s commitment towards digital asset business development, stating:

“We continue to build and deliver technology capabilities that position Nasdaq as a leading digital assets software solutions provider to the broader global industry. This includes advancing our custody solution as a technology platform to serve the broader, global digital assets marketplace.”

Initially announcing its crypto custody project in September of 2022, the focus was predominantly focused on enabling users to store Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) safely.

Amid growing regulatory pressure in the United States and the growing demand for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), current times may not be very ideal to launch the service.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-nasdaq-halts-launch-of-cryptocurrency-custody-service

https://www.ft.com/content/e7c3fa57-f12d-43f1-94e4-3dcc535fbc06

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/19/nasdaq-pauses-plans-to-launch-crypto-custody-services-.html

https://ir.nasdaq.com/events/event-details/nasdaq-second-quarter-2023-results