Key takeaways
- BNY Mellon signs five-year Bitcoin custody agreement
- Invesco Galaxy retains Coinbase alongside new banking partner
- Separate filings reveal Ethereum and Solana custody expansion
BNY Mellon has secured a five-year digital asset custody agreement with the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, expanding the Wall Street banking giant's role in safeguarding cryptocurrency for institutional investment products.
According to a November 12 SEC filing, the agreement became effective November 6 and allows BNY Mellon to establish segregated accounts for the ETF's Bitcoin holdings.
BNY Mellon Joins Coinbase as Invesco Bitcoin ETF Custodian
The Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, trading under BTCO on Cboe BZX, will be able to use both BNY Mellon and Coinbase Custody Trust Company for safeguarding its Bitcoin.
The SEC filing explicitly states that the existing Coinbase arrangement remains unaffected by the new agreement.
BNY will establish and maintain segregated digital asset accounts under its control, with contractual requirements covering safekeeping, insurance and standards of care.
The initial agreement runs for five years, followed by automatic one-year renewals unless either party provides notice or the contract ends earlier.
Previously, BNY served as BTCO's cash custodian, while Coinbase handled the underlying cryptocurrency. The new agreement expands BNY's responsibilities beyond traditional fund operations.
A similar arrangement was previously outlined when Morgan Stanley selected Coinbase and BNY for its Bitcoin investment product.
However, Invesco has not disclosed how much Bitcoin will be allocated to BNY or whether any assets have already been transferred.
BNY Mellon Expands Into Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Custody
The Bitcoin agreement is part of a broader institutional expansion.
Separate SEC filings confirm that Invesco Galaxy's Ethereum ETF, QETH, and Solana ETF, QSOL, also entered digital asset custody agreements with BNY Mellon on November 6.
Both filings preserve existing Coinbase custody relationships, suggesting a wider multichain strategy rather than a single Bitcoin partnership.
The expansion follows BNY's recent institutional XRP and RLUSD custody launch.
Previously, Coinpaper examined how Bitwise's XRP ETF divides responsibilities between Coinbase's digital asset custody and BNY's administrative infrastructure.
The Invesco agreements go further by explicitly establishing BNY as a custodian of the underlying cryptocurrencies.
What Does BNY Mellon's Deal Mean for Coinbase?
Coinbase remains a significant participant in institutional digital asset custody, but traditional banks are increasingly offering competing infrastructure.
The new agreements arrive shortly after Coinbase's national trust charter took effect, strengthening its own position in regulated institutional services.
BNY's expansion also reflects the longer-running banking industry's move into crypto custody, as financial institutions develop systems for holding digital assets alongside conventional securities.
Yet the contracts do not establish that Coinbase has lost existing customer assets or that BNY has displaced it as the principal custodian.
The distinction matters because additional custodians can provide institutional clients with operational flexibility and alternatives for managing custody exposure.
Earlier Bitcoin ETF custody scrutiny demonstrated why investors pay attention to asset segregation, settlement procedures and custodian responsibilities.
