Bank Of America CEO Says Regulation Is Preventing Crypto Engagement

By Kevin • May 31, 2022 7:00 pm • Comments

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan just recently discussed the crypto industry at the World Economic Forum in Davis this year.

His comments revealed that the bank is currently running a digital payments business that processes a trillion dollars a day and that a move to utilize crypto would make sense as far as innovation goes.

However, he stated that current crypto regulation is basically preventing that them from having accounts for crypto or digital assets.

Trending: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell Say Federal Reserve Cannot Own Bitcoin

As a result, if regulation regarding this does change one day, it would be a massive boom as major banks like Bank of America partake on the trend.

Still, that possibility may still be somewhat far away due to the current state of regulation in the US.

Bitcoin.com reports:

The Bank of America chief explained: “Because we’re regulated and they [regulators] have said you can’t. They’ve said, ‘you have to ask us before you do it and, by the way, don’t ask’ — was basically the tone.” He emphasized:

The reality is that we can’t do it by regulation. We’re not really allowed to engage.
However, Moynihan clarified: “On the trading side, we could do it. Our research team writes on it.”

Bank of America’s research team has been actively publishing reports on cryptocurrencies. The bank formally established a cryptocurrency research team in July last year.

In October, the research team debuted a lengthy report stating that digital assets are “too large to ignore.” The bank also sees a massive opportunity in the metaverse for the entire crypto ecosystem.

This is unfortunate given that the company stated that they actually have hundreds of different blockchain patents that they are currently unable to use.

As a result, the bank plans to stick with its digital business which comprises of 60% of the bank’s consumers.

Other Wall Street firms like BNY Mellon have already started to enter the digital assets industry and had already arranged a crypto custody arrangement for the USDC stable coin.

Goldman Sachs has also gotten involved by providing crypto lending services which was one of the first of its kind especially from a large investment bank.

Bitcoinist.com reports:

The harsh comments about crypto from two high-profile banking executives (Lagarde and Moynihan) come at a difficult moment for the crypto market, with bitcoin and ether down more than 58% from their all-time highs last year, and the industry facing increased regulatory scrutiny.

Over the last year, a number of Wall Street institutions have embraced cryptocurrencies. BNY Mellon secured a large crypto custody arrangement for the USDC stablecoin in March, and the bank established a digital assets unit focused on cryptocurrencies last year.

JPMorgan has left its imprint across the crypto world, while Goldman Sachs has taken the jump and now offers a bitcoin-backed lending facility.

The investment bank stated that digital assets outperform other asset classes, implying a substantial push in the space.

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