BNY Mellon has quietly rolled out crypto staking support for institutional clients using its digital asset custody platform. The move, confirmed this week, lets the bank's clients earn rewards on proof-of-stake tokens they already hold in custody — a feature that major custody providers have been racing to offer since the Ethereum Merge reshaped the network's economics.
What the service covers
The staking service is live now, according to a person familiar with the rollout. BNY Mellon is initially supporting Ethereum staking, with plans to add other proof-of-stake networks later. Clients who opt in will see their staking rewards credited directly to their custody accounts.
The bank isn't running its own validators. Instead, it's partnering with third-party staking infrastructure providers — a common arrangement among custody firms that want to offer yield without taking on the operational risk of running nodes.
Institutional demand for staking has grown sharply over the past two years. Asset managers and pension funds that hold crypto want to generate yield on idle assets, but they've been cautious about delegating tokens to external staking pools due to custody and compliance concerns. BNY Mellon's move gives them a way to stake within the same regulated custody framework they already use.
The timing isn't accidental. The SEC's recent guidance on staking-as-a-service has given banks a clearer regulatory path, and several large custody providers have launched similar offerings this year. BNY Mellon is the first of the big U.S. custody banks to follow through.
What clients see
For now, the staking feature is opt-in and limited to Ethereum. Clients must sign a separate staking agreement that spells out the risks — including slashing risk, lock-up periods, and the fact that staked tokens may not be immediately liquid. The bank is not guaranteeing any specific yield rate; rewards fluctuate with network conditions.
BNY Mellon declined to disclose how many clients have signed up so far, or the total value of assets being staked through the platform.
The bank is expected to expand staking support to additional networks in the coming months, likely starting with Solana and Polygon. A formal announcement with more details on supported assets and fee structures is expected before the end of the quarter.
