THE FEATURE Metropolitan Bank Is Handling Millions for Crypto Clients (And It Wants More) To most banks in the U.S., cryptocurrency businesses are pariahs. To Metropolitan Commercial Bank, they're "pioneers." At least, that's how the New York financial institution's chief technology officer, Nick Rosenberg, describes them. "We're certainly very interested in growing this vertical," Rosenberg told CoinDesk of the bank's crypto clientele. "We've learned that it's a serious industry. There are some very smart people involved. There are some very interesting ideas coming out that could really change the way people do business." While most banks cling to the adage "blockchain not bitcoin," Metropolitan stands out simply by being one of the very few to enthusiastically court deposit business from crypto firms. These clients include a few exchanges, as well as hedge funds and other crypto investors that bank at Metropolitan because it's easier to quickly move their money to those exchanges. (To be clear: the bank only handles fiat for customers and does not touch crypto itself.) So far, it's proven a lucrative niche. | 
