NEW YORK CITY- The nation's oldest bank, Bank of New York MellonCorp, is making the leap into bitcoin, an obvious sign of acceptance of the once-fringe digital currency. The bank said it will transfer and issue bitcoin on behalf of its asset-management clients. MellonCOrp keeps track of money managers' assets- whether those be physical of cash housed in other banks.

BNY Mellon will allow digital assets to pass through more traditional holdings-- from Treasurys to technology stocks and is using a platform which is now in prototype.

“Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream,” said Roman Regelman, chief executive of BNY Mellon’s asset-servicing and digital businesses.

In the past, money managers have used separate custodians for cryptocurrency as regulatory, legal and stability risks left them reluctant to come into direct contact with the crypto market. This week, Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $48,635,84. Other big-name financial firms such as Fidelity Investments have also declared interest in digital assets. However, MellonCorp is the first bank to unveil an actual plan to treat cryptocurrency as it would any other asset.

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