America’s oldest bank, Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK, will offer Bitcoin and digital asset custody services later this year.

What Happened: According to today’s announcement, BNY Mellon will form a new enterprise Digital Assets unit that will address clients’ needs in regards to digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

This will make BNY Mellon the country’s first multi-asset digital custody platform to service both traditional assets and digital assets.

"BNY Mellon is proud to be the first global bank to announce plans to provide an integrated service for digital assets," said Roman Regelman, CEO of Asset Servicing and Head of Digital at the bank.

Why It Matters: With over $41.1 trillion in assets under custody, BNY Mellon will allow digital assets and cryptocurrencies to pass through the same financial network as its other traditional assets.

"The Digital Assets unit plans to deliver a secure infrastructure for transferring, safekeeping and issuing digital assets,", said Mike Demissie, head of Advanced Solutions at BNY Mellon.

Demissie will be in charge of the Digital Asset unit and is currently in the process of setting up a cross-functional, cross-business team.

The bank also stated that it would leverage blockchain technology to extend its capabilities within the financial custody and investment services industry.

Price Action: BNY Mellon shares were up by 2.36% following the news, traded at $42.72. 

The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was up by 5% touching $48,000 at the time of writing.