Investment bank Cowen, founded in 1918, is launching a cryptocurrency service in partnership with Standard Custody & Trust Co. to help institutional clients “seamlessly secure, access and leverage cryptocurrencies and digital assets in their portfolios.” Cowen’s CEO said: “The demand is clearly here. We’re going to be able to help a lot of our institutional clients get over the hump and start trading digital assets.”

Cowen Diving Into Crypto

Investment bank Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) says Thursday that it will start providing “institutional grade” custody for cryptocurrencies through a partnership with Standard Custody & Trust Co. Founded in 1918, the company is headquartered in New York with offices worldwide.

The goal of the partnership is to enable “Cowen’s institutional clients to seamlessly secure, access and leverage cryptocurrencies and digital assets in their portfolios,” according to Thursday’s announcement.

Jeffrey Solomon, Cowen’s chief executive officer, said in an interview:

The demand is clearly here. We’re going to be able to help a lot of our institutional clients get over the hump and start trading digital assets in the not-too-distant future.

He added: “If you’re an institutional investor with a fiduciary requirement, the bar is extremely high for you to put investments in any asset that does not have a clear chain of custody that you can access at a moment’s notice.”

Cowen also led a $53 million Series B financing with a $25 million strategic investment in Polysign Inc., Standard’s parent company. Polysign is developing products that allow financial institutions to work more with digital assets. Other participants in the fundraising round include Blockchain.com, Race Capital, Sandia Holdings, and Pilotrock Investments. “The funds will be used to accelerate Polysign’s ongoing development of institutional blockchain applications,” the announcement details.

This week, the New York State Department of Financial Services granted Standard a limited-purpose trust charter.