Prometheum will provide ETH storage services
Prometheum Capital LLC, a subsidiary of digital asset company Prometheum, Inc., continues to provide cryptocurrency custody services after selecting Ether as its first offering.
Institutional clients such as asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and registered investment advisers can sign up for Prometheum Capital's custodial services, which are scheduled to launch in the first fiscal quarter of the year, according to a company release.
In 2024, the firm intends to expand services to both retail and institutional clients.
“Prometheum is pleased to announce the launch of Prometheum Capital custodial services, initially focused on ETH. These services have been specifically designed to meet the stringent regulatory and compliance requirements set forth in federal security laws,” said Prometheum, Inc. Co-CEO. Aaron Kaplan.
“Through this initiative, we aim to provide investors with the ability to interact with digital assets within established regulatory guidelines.”
Prometheum's offering of ether custody services comes after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on December 21 allowed the firm to provide crypto clearing and settlement services through a special broker-dealer license. The Securities and Exchange Commission granted Prometheum this license in May 2023.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler hinted that ether could be a security, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Benham said it would be a commodity, causing some confusion in the industry. Prometheum's incursion into the airwaves could force the SEC to make a decision, Fortune reported Wednesday.
Prometheum's steps forward come as the SEC continually warns that cryptocurrency exchanges need to register with the agency. Over the past year, Coinbase, Binance and Kraken have been accused of allegedly operating as an unregistered exchange, broker, dealer and clearing house. Meanwhile, crypto firms claim that registering with the agency is impossible.
After receiving a license from the SEC last year, Prometheum quickly drew the ire of Republican lawmakers and others in the crypto industry.
When asked in December what Kaplan had to say to those who say it's impossible to register with the SEC, he said it helps to work with the law, not against it.
“Keeping your head down and working within the regulation and trying to work within the law rather than changing the law can be successful with proper securities law registration, as evidenced by first being approved by a designated broker-dealer and now cleared by and settlement."