BNY to offer Bitcoin and Ether custody in Abu Dhabi
BNY will provide institutional Bitcoin and Ether custody from ADGM with Abu Dhabi’s Finstreet and ADI Foundation, with plans to add stablecoins and tokenized assets later.
BNY has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Finstreet and the ADI Foundation to offer institutional custody for Bitcoin and Ether from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on Al Maryah Island. The initial service will serve Finstreet’s existing clients and is subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals.
Under the agreement announced Thursday, custody will initially focus on Bitcoin and Ether. A later phase is planned to integrate with ADI Foundation’s blockchain infrastructure. The firms intend to add stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and other regulated digital instruments, but provided no timeline.
Hani Kablawi, executive vice chair at BNY, described the bank as ‘uniquely positioned to connect traditional and digital financial ecosystems.’ BNY describes itself as the first U.S. global systemically important bank to offer digital asset custody.
Finstreet is a subsidiary of Sirius International Holding, which is backed by Abu Dhabi conglomerate IHC. IHC took part in launching DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin regulated by the UAE central bank that operates on ADI Chain, the institutional layer-2 blockchain developed by ADI Foundation.
A Shariah-compliant stablecoin called PUSD, backed by reserves denominated in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams, is expected to launch on ADI Chain. In 2025, ADI Chain signed memoranda of understanding with BlackRock, Mastercard and Franklin Templeton related to tokenized asset settlement and digital financial infrastructure.
UAE regulators have issued licences to firms including Animoca Brands, BitGo and Binance and introduced rules covering tokenized stocks, ETFs and crypto derivatives. Abu Dhabi entities are also developing payments and conversion rails.
AE Coin and USD Universal announced a regulated conversion rail to exchange the dirham-pegged AE Coin and the US dollar-backed USDU stablecoin, running on Al Maryah Community Bank infrastructure and initially accessible through licensed providers Aquanow and Changer.ae.
The BNY-Finstreet-ADI arrangement will use ADGM as the onshore jurisdiction for custody services. Final implementation depends on completion of definitive agreements and clearance from relevant regulators.
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