“The financial industry is transforming to a digital economy, and we see digital assets as one of the most significant forces impacting our industry over the next five years,” said Ron O’Hanley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corporation. “Digital assets are quickly becoming integrated into the existing framework of financial services, and it is critical we have the tools in place to provide our clients with solutions for both their traditional investment needs as well as their increased digital needs.”
The new division will build on State Street’s current digital capabilities and will expand to include crypto, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization. Our proprietary GlobalLink technology platform will be an integral component of State Street Digital and will be enhanced into a digital multi-asset platform. The objective is to evolve the platform into a multi-asset platform to support crypto assets among other asset classes. The aim will also be to support our peer-to-peer ambitions by creating new liquidity venues for our clients and investors worldwide.
“We have been developing a number of digital capabilities and other solutions as well as partnering and investing in the infrastructure that forms the foundation of State Street Digital,” said Chakar. “State Street has a major role to play in the evolution of digital market infrastructure and this new division will help us bring our expertise and resources to the conversation. As digital currencies and tokenization not only gain momentum, but transform financial infrastructure and operating models, we can help our clients bridge the gap between the industry of today and the one of tomorrow.”
Today’s announcement builds on State Street’s long history of innovation and strong foundation within the digital servicing space. In 2019, the company launched State Street AlphaSM, the industry’s first front-to-back offering based on the principles of openness and interoperability. In April of this year, State Street announced that it was appointed as the administrator of a planned bitcoin backed exchange traded note (ETN) initiated by Iconic Funds BTC ETN GmbH, a subsidiary of Iconic Funds GmbH. The ETN will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, following the approval by the German Securities Regulator (BaFin). Separately in March, State Street announced that it was appointed as the fund administrator and transfer agent of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (‘The Trust’) a new bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is currently pending approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Tony Bisegna, global head of portfolio solutions, FX sales and trading, and research for State Street Global Markets, will become our head of Global Markets effective September 1, 2021. Bisegna’s appointment is part of our ongoing succession planning.
About State Street Corporation
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $40.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $3.6 trillion* in assets under management as of March 31, 2021, State Street operates globally in more than 100 geographic markets and employs approximately 39,000 worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's website at www.statestreet.com.
* Assets under management as of March 31, 2021 includes approximately $60 billion of assets with respect to SPDR® products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Global Advisors are affiliated.
Forward Looking Statements
This News Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of United States securities laws, including statements about our goals and expectations regarding our newly launched division focused on addressing the industry’s evolving shift to digital finance, State Street Digital, and related matters, including industry and economic trends. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by such forward-looking terminology as “will,” “trend,” “objective,” “aim,” “strategy,” “goal,” “expect,” “priority,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “seek,” and “may” or similar statements or variations of such terms. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, are inherently uncertain, are based on current assumptions that are difficult to predict and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in those statements. Important factors that may affect future results and outcomes include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent SEC filings. We encourage investors to read these filings, particularly the sections on risk factors, for additional information with respect to any forward-looking statements and prior to making any investment decision. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release should not by relied on as representing our expectations or beliefs as of any time subsequent to the time this News Release is first issued, and we do not undertake efforts to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect events after that time.