State Street to launch crypto services for private funds clients

After leading Lukka’s Series C funding round in late 2020, State Street partners with the firm to offer new digital asset services.

Major American financial services and bank holding company State Street Corporation is expanding its push into the cryptocurrency industry by launching new digital asset services.

State Street, the second-oldest operating bank in the United States, announced Thursday that it would provide digital and crypto asset administration services for the company’s private funds clients. The bank will enable its private fund clients to access a set of institutional-grade middle- and back-office offerings that support diversified portfolios including crypto-related features like collection, standardization, reporting, processing and reconciliation.

To unlock the services, State Street signed an agreement with Lukka, a U.S.-based blockchain data and software provider focused on reporting audit-ready data on cryptocurrency transactions. State Street is known as a major investor in Lukka, leading the company’s Series C funding round in December 2020.

As part of the partnership, State Street will provide access to a set of Lukka’s proprietary products, including middle- and back-office data management solutions designed for blockchain and crypto-asset data, as well as reference and pricing data. It will allow State Street to consume crypto assets mixed within private client’s traditional alternative investments portfolios, providing digital assets with the same quality and precision as traditional assets.

The news comes shortly after Street Digital launched a new division dedicated to cryptocurrency and digital assets last month. Called ​​State Street Digital, the new unit is focused on research and tools related to cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, central bank digital currencies and tokenization.

Related: BNY Mellon joins State Street to service new crypto exchange

“The growth in popularity of digital assets is showing no signs of a slowdown and State Street Digital is committed to continuing to build out the necessary infrastructure to further develop our digital assets servicing models to help meet our clients’ growing demands,” State Street Digital director Nadine Chakar said.

Headquartered in New York, Lukka is known as a major player in the digital asset industry in the United States. S&P Dow Jones Indices — a joint venture between S&P Global, the CME Group and News Corp — launched crypto indexes using Lukka’s technology earlier this year.