Nasdaq plans to wait for more clarity in terms of crypto adoption globally, the company’s executive vice president and head of North American markets said.

Tal Cohen said that the world’s second-largest stock exchange is waiting for more regulatory clarity and institutional adoption around crypto exchanges before planning to launch a platform of its own.

“Those are discussions we’re happy to have,” Cohen told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.

“But right now, on the retail side, the market is quite saturated,” he added. “There are a number of exchanges that cater to the retail client base.”

Instead, Nasdaq plans to stay focused on its crypto custody services. Cohen said these services are critical to customers, citing a “massive” demand advertising opportunity there.

“We think if you can protect people’s assets, they’ll trust you to do everything else afterwards,” he said.

Cohen added that along with custody services, Nasdaq is working to facilitate the movement and transfer of assets by developing its enforcement capabilities.

In September, Nasdaq announced that it would offer custody services for Bitcoin and Ether to institutional investors. To do so, the firm hired Ira Auerbach, who ran lead broker services at the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, to lead Nasdaq’s new Digital Assets unit.

The main target market for the Nasdaq exchange is institutional investors, as adoption has grown markedly among these classes in recent years. While accumulating cryptocurrency is one thing, protecting it is another, and company-owned funds are not supposed to be managed by one person.

According to Blockchain.News, this necessitates the need for escrow services. While exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken already dominate the crypto custody space for institutional investors, many believe that Nasdaq is not late to the party just yet.

Image Source: Shutterstock