Institutional cryptocurrency prime dealer SFOX has partnered with a New York bank to offer state-insured bank accounts for traders, the company confirmed in a blog post on May 14.

SFOX, which says the move is an industry first, stated the deal with M.Y. Safra Bank primarily targeted institutional investors and funds.

The company has been active in the trading space since 2014, and counts businesses such as Blockchain.com and Overstock subsidiary tZero among its clients.

With Safra, SFOX traders will now have access to insurance through the United States government’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) worth up to $250,000.

“SFOX’s partnership with M.Y. Safra Bank represents another step forward in our mission to provide our clients with the best place to trade cryptoassets,” CEO Akbar Thobhani commented in the blog post. He added:

“M.Y. Safra’s Bank proven track record of providing custom banking solutions to institutions and HNWIs made them the ideal choice for taking SFOX trading one step closer to the goal of a truly frictionless and reliable trade experience across all cryptoassets.”

As part of the deal, other features will also become available to institutional traders, including holding funds in named bank accounts, which the companies say further reduces counterparty risk.

As Cointelegraph reported, institutional interest in the crypto sector is showing signs of major expansion this month.

As bitcoin (BTC) prices reach yearly highs, record trading volumes have been reported by Bitcoin futures provider CME Group, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust continues to trade at around a 25% premium over standard market rates.