A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
BNY, a New York Stock Exchange-listed financial services company, has announced plans to launch digital asset custody services for UAE clients in collaboration with Finstreet Limited and ADI Foundation.
Finstreet is a digital market infrastructure group and a subsidiary of International Holding Company through Sirius International Holding, while ADI Foundation is an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign-grade blockchain infrastructure organisation. BNY is regarded as the world’s largest custodian bank.
The three entities said they will work together to offer regulated, scalable and institutional-grade digital asset custody anchored in ADGM.
“Aligned with Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to shape the future of global finance, this milestone marks a significant step in the region’s digital finance advancement,” a BNY statement said.
The strategic collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of digital assets among UAE clients by providing access to a fully localised, secure, compliant and scalable digital asset custody solution, the statement said.
The collaboration will initially focus on digital asset custody services for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum for Finstreet’s clients and ecosystem. The companies said they would later explore extending the services to ADI Foundation’s blockchain infrastructure, with plans to progressively expand into stablecoins, tokenised real-world assets and other regulated digital instruments.
Ajay Bhatia, Principal Council Member at ADI Foundation, said: “This strategic collaboration is an important step in further cementing Abu Dhabi’s place as a global digital asset hub.
“By combining the strength of Abu Dhabi’s advanced regulatory clarity with BNY’s globally recognised financial expertise and capabilities, ADI Chain — our sovereign-grade digital infrastructure — will unlock new opportunities in custody, trade finance, and lending from Abu Dhabi to the world,” he added.
Hani Kablawi, Executive Vice Chair at BNY, said: “The UAE is entering a new phase of financial development, characterised by deeper markets, greater digital sophistication and stronger global connectivity.
“With our world-class capabilities and scale across capital markets, BNY is uniquely positioned to connect traditional and digital financial ecosystems in collaboration with our clients.
"Together with IHC and its subsidiaries Finstreet and ADI Foundation, we are proud to be building the financial infrastructure for the future and unlock new capabilities in the region and beyond."
Akshay Mahajan, Co-Founder and Group Director of Finstreet Limited, said: “With this strategic collaboration, Finstreet is expanding access to digital assets and blockchain technology as a trusted operating system for global markets.
“As the primary access point for digital securities, Finstreet is the global gateway to Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem. This will help Abu Dhabi to continue to lead as a global centre for digital financial solutions,” he added.
The statement said all initiatives remain subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals.
UAE-based experts welcomed the move, saying it strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as a regional hub for institutional digital assets.
Irina Heaver, Crypto Lawyer and Founder of NeosLegal, said ADGM had become “the institutional choice in the region” after the Financial Services Regulatory Authority introduced its virtual asset framework in 2018, which she described as “the first comprehensive crypto regime anywhere in the world”.
She noted that ADGM operates under English common law with custody-specific licensing categories designed for institutional players “from day one”. “For BNY, that legal certainty is the precondition for entry. The deal is logical, not surprising,” Heaver said.
According to Heaver, institutional digital asset custody in the UAE is already a developed market, with licensed providers including BitGo, Komainu, Hex Trust, Ceffu, Bitpanda Custody, Tungsten, M2, Aspen Digital, Paxos, eToro, Rain, Standard Chartered, Sygnum Bank and AMINA Bank. She added that Sygnum and AMINA had been offering FSRA-regulated institutional digital asset banking services from ADGM since 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Heaver said BNY’s entry would bring “the largest custodian in the world by AUC/A — $59.4 trillion” into the UAE market.
“What sets the BNY/Finstreet/ADI Foundation collaboration apart is the integration with IHC’s vertically integrated digital finance stack,” she said, adding that ADI Chain already provides the settlement layer for DDSC, the dirham-backed stablecoin issued under a UAE Central Bank licence by IHC and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
“Layering BNY’s global custody distribution on top creates a regulated tokenisation pipeline,” she added.
At the same time, Heaver cautioned that the initiative remained subject to regulatory approvals. She noted that FSRA approval for digital asset custody activity in ADGM involves requirements related to capital adequacy, custody segregation, key management standards and operational risk controls.
“The strategic significance of the announcement is genuine, but live UAE client custody is a function of how quickly the regulated entities clear those approvals,” she said.
“The real story isn’t a single bank arriving. It’s that the UAE has now built a multi-layered institutional digital asset ecosystem that is attracting the world’s largest financial institutions on its own regulatory terms."
Samer Mardini, Chief Investment Officer at a Dubai-based family office, described the collaboration as “a serious institutional move and a strong signal for Abu Dhabi’s digital finance plans”.
“BNY brings global trust and deep custody expertise, ADGM provides a strong regulatory foundation, and Finstreet and ADI add the local infrastructure needed to support Abu Dhabi’s digital finance growth,” Mardini said.
“The opportunity is significant, particularly in regulated digital assets and tokenisation. However, it remains at an early stage and will depend on regulatory approvals, strong execution, and institutional adoption,” he added.