NEW YORK – BNY Mellon CEO Robin Vince said the next phase of crypto adoption will depend on large financial institutions, arguing that banks are positioned to connect digital assets to the broader financial system.
“We can act as a very effective bridge between the traditional economy and the digital financial ecosystems,” Vince said during a conversation at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on Tuesday.
His comments come as established banks expand their role in digital assets after years of caution. BNY Mellon was among the first major custodians to offer custody of digital assets, and Vince framed the move as part of a longer pattern of adopting new technologies. “We’re a company that grew up with a whole lot of different technologies,” he said.
Instead of seeing decentralized finance as a replacement for banks, Vince pushed back on the idea that crypto will bypass the incumbents. “A technology looking for adopters can sometimes struggle, but we are an adoption vehicle,” he said, pointing to the bank’s existing customer base and infrastructure.
This positioning allows the company to support both sides of the market. “They look at us and say… you can actually be a bridge to us, the digital asset providers, through all the traditional things that you do,” Vince said.
He highlighted tokenization as a key area of focus, including work to create digital versions of traditional products. “We have created digital tokens, new share classes for money market funds,” he said, describing how existing funds can be issued in tokenized form to encourage adoption.
In the short term, he expects adoption to focus on areas where current systems fall short. “Loans are unwieldy. Real estate is unwieldy,” he said, suggesting those markets may benefit from tokenization first.
‘Need clarity’
Still, Vince emphasized that trust and regulation will shape how fast the sector grows. “We need clarity and traffic rules,” he said. “That hesitation slows down adoption.”
His comments come as lawmakers work to establish a regulatory framework for institutional investors to safely invest in the digital asset sector.
In the US, while the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act has passed, a revised version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is still in flux after lawmakers shared updated language with industry participants in a closed-door session on Capitol Hill this week as they try to pave the way for a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Early feedback from crypto insiders suggests that the draft’s approach to the stablecoin dividend remains a problem, with the language described as narrow and unclear. The latest compromise, shaped in part by pressure from banks, would allow rewards tied to user activity but not interest on stablecoin balances, reflecting the ongoing tension between the crypto industry and traditional lenders over how to treat such products.
Vince added that security and oversight remain critical to institutional participation. “If it’s the Wild West… 90% of the financial services community… wants nothing to do with it,” Vince said.
Still, Vince warned that change will take time. “This will be a 5, 10, 15-year journey,” he said, adding that progress will depend on advances in technology, regulation and market participation.
“It’s all of the above,” Vince said. “That shouldn’t stop us from getting excited about getting started.”
