BNP Paribas Securities Services to develop digital assets custody capabilities through partnerships with METACO and Fireblocks

BNP Paribas Securities Services has selected two major fintechs – Fireblocks and METACO - to develop its digital asset custody offering and help clients issue, transfer and safekeep regulated digital assets efficiently and securely. The bank has selected Fireblocks as its hot wallet, tokenization, and connectivity infrastructure layer. As a first step, BNP Paribas Securities Services will use Fireblocks’ solution in their on-going experimentation with the settlement and custody of regulated security tokens. Most recently, BNP Paribas Securities Services leveraged Fireblocks’ solution in a live experiment on the settlement and custody of a non-listed digital bond in the French market. The bank has also recently selected METACO with the intention to integrate the fintech’s bank-grade digital asset custody and orchestration platform into its existing infrastructure. The platform will underpin the bank's institutional custody offering and unify governance across its multiple systems, allowing institutional clients to store, issue and settle digital securities alongside their traditional assets. Commenting, Wayne Hughes, Head of Digital Assets at BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “These partnerships represent a new milestone for us, allowing us to build a multi-asset, multi-provider platform which, once the regulatory framework allows, will offer full connectivity across traditional and digital assets. Our objective is to offer our clients a single view of all these different types of assets for complete transparency, greater operational efficiency and risk management. Leveraging on the combined expertise of leading technical providers, will allow us to extend our custody offering to a wider scope of regulated digital assets as the market evolves.” “BNP Paribas Securities Services is a leader in the asset servicing vertical. The team has shown an impressive ability and openness to collaborate alongside key industry players — from fintechs to central banks — to make great strides into the digital asset space,” explained Michael Shaulov, CEO and Co-Founder of Fireblocks. “We’re proud to support the BNP Paribas Securities Services’ team in their digital asset journey to meet the demand of institutional investors everywhere.” Adrien Treccani, CEO and Founder of METACO, commented: “BNP Paribas is a distinguished European banking leader, and a leading global custodian. Being selected after a very rigorous process is testament to the strength of the value proposition we bring to global banks. By leveraging METACO, the bank will deploy the industry-standard digital asset custody and orchestration platform for top tier financial institutions, and will be able to offer clients a service underpinned by the highest possible security and scalability, while ensuring full regulatory compliance globally.”