According to a report from Nikkei Asia, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (Japan’s second-largest bank) is creating Japan Digital Asset Trust to provide custodial services to bitcoin and other cryptocurrency for institutional clients.
According to reports, the new company will keep assets such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrency for corporations and large investors because it believes that investors will feel more secure if these assets are held by trusted financial institutions.
Japan Digital Asset Trust is a joint venture with Bitbank, a Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange. Bitbank will own 85% of the venture. Mitsui will own the remaining 15%.
According to reports, the new venture will have $2.3 million capital to launch. Investors are expected to provide enough capital to reach the $78 million goal.
This announcement comes after the announcement by Nomura Holdings Inc., a Japanese competitor bank, that they will be creating a subsidiary to provide custodial services for institutional clients who are looking to acquire bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
Zoomed out to the global level, bitcoin adoption is increasing as Mitsui Trust joins financial institutions like BNY Mellon, which just last year supported a cryptocurrency trading platform. Fidelity also wrote Bitcoin First. This was a resource that showed institutional investors why they should be investing in bitcoin. It has since offered Bitcoin-based products.
Morgan Stanley, global banking leader, also published a report on bitcoin’s viability and currency after Jack Maller’s announcement at Bitcoin 2022, where he declared Strike, his Bitcoin infrastructure business, had integrated with one of the biggest point-of-sale providers in the world.