BNY Mellon expanded its Digital Asset Custody platform to support USDC. Institutional clients can now store, transfer, mint and redeem the stablecoin directly through BNY. This marks the first stablecoin added to the platform.
From Reserve Custody to Client-Facing Services
BNY had already served as the primary custodian of assets backing USDC, holding the dollars behind each Circle token. The new role is different: the bank now services clients who want to work with the stablecoin directly, not just safeguard someone else's reserves.
BNY manages $59.3 trillion in assets under custody and serves more than 90% of Fortune 100 companies. For a corporate treasury already banking with BNY, adding USDC access means a familiar workflow without switching to new platforms or counterparties. That simplicity matters in a sector where new tools take time to gain acceptance.
Circle, USDC's issuer, is one of the few crypto companies to hold a US banking license. That regulatory standing made USDC a natural fit for the first stablecoin in BNY's custody system. The bank also said it plans to expand support to additional stablecoins and digital cash workflows over time, without naming specific assets.
What the Platform Now Supports
The updated Digital Asset Custody platform offers four USDC capabilities:
- minting USDC from US dollars through BNY
- redeeming USDC back into dollars
- storing USDC within the bank's custody system
- transferring USDC between platform clients
These functions let a corporate client run a complete stablecoin cycle: receive USDC, use it for payments or settlement, and convert it back to dollars. All through a single interface, with no additional intermediaries.
In May, BNY partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Finstreet and the ADI Foundation to develop custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum, with plans to later cover stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. The current announcement puts that plan into practice.
Major Banks Are Moving Past Exploration
BNY's move fits into a broader pattern. In May, JPMorgan filed with the SEC to launch a tokenized money market fund designed for stablecoin issuers. The Ethereum-based fund invests in US Treasuries and overnight repurchase agreements that back payment stablecoins, letting issuers earn yield on reserves while staying compliant.
State Street launched a similar product this month to meet GENIUS Act requirements, the US stablecoin law setting reserve asset standards. State Street Bank and Anchorage Digital are among the fund's initial investors.
Bank of America announced it was exploring a stablecoin for its payments infrastructure back in 2025. Fidelity Investments went further: after receiving conditional approval to operate as a national trust bank, the firm launched FIDD, a dollar-backed stablecoin already in circulation.
A year ago, most major banks were talking about stablecoins in terms of research. Today they are shipping products.
USDC's Position in a $313 Billion Market
The total stablecoin market capitalization topped $313 billion. USDT from Tether accounts for roughly 60% of that. USDC holds second place with more than $73.8 billion in circulation.
USDC is backed by strict reserve standards: Circle publishes monthly auditor attestations confirming each token is covered dollar-for-dollar. As the primary custodian of those reserves, BNY has direct visibility into this data, which strengthens the case for USDC in corporate treasury applications.
USDT leads in retail and P2P segments, where clients need high liquidity and fast settlement above all. USDC targets the regulated and institutional market, where compliance and transparency take priority. BNY's backing accelerates that push.
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