In the last few quarters, big banks haven’t said much about cryptocurrencies in their earnings reports and subsequent analyst calls.
The second quarter of 2022 could be a changing quarter.
As JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley report on Thursday (July 14th) and Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Friday (July 15th), the recession of major banks will begin this week. Russia’s expansion war in Ukraine is uncertain, as the Federal Reserve is so concerned about inflation that it is already discussing a 75 basis point rate hike, despite rising signs of recession. It raises sexual and political tensions.
Then, in May, the collapse of the crypto market became a landslide. The under-designed Stablecoin collapsed, robbing $ 48 billion worth of investor funding and considerable crypto trust.
Later that month, Bank of America CEO at the Annual Davos Conference of the Cryptocurrency-Friendly World Economic Forum Brian Moynihan Said Yahoo Finance feels banks are “not missing” [out] By moving away from cryptocurrencies, he adds, “We are driving payments from the roof.”
But he also suggested that the Bank of America cryptocurrency bystander was not a matter of choice.
“In reality, you can’t do that,” Moynahan said. “Regulations do not allow us to actually be involved. We are not engaged in cryptocurrency people’s accounts, we are not allowed.”
Moynahan points out the Office of the Comptroller’s position on banks involved in digital assets and states the position of banking regulators: “
This is not much different from CapitalOne CEO. Rich fair bank It was stated in the announcement of financial results for the fourth quarter of 2021 on January 25.
When asked about the expansion of movement over the past few quarters for products offered by FinTechs and neobanks, Fairbank pointed out the speed at which these companies can move. Does not match the bank side of the business. “
“The biggest growth vector is in the least regulated aspects of payments, platforms, cryptocurrencies, etc.” he said, pointing out “regulations that tend to surround the banking industry.”
Growing interest
June 30, Bloomberg report The number of Bank of America customers using cryptocurrencies fell 50% from the beginning of November, when Bitcoin was leading the wider cryptocurrency market to its highest level before the end of the month, to 500,000. I became a person. At $ 20,000, Bitcoin’s value is now down about 70%.
But just two days ago, banks issued a report following the “Web3 & Digital Assets Day” meeting, saying, “Client engagement continues to grow and blockchain technology is booming despite falling token prices. The focus is on development and destructive nature. Headings suggesting that the collapse of the ecosystem has arrived. ” report.. In mid-June, BoA said it discovered that 90% of crypto investors plan to buy more crypto within six months.
Bank of America said there is consensus that institutional investors are interested in entering the space but are waiting for regulations to be created.
reference: Senate crypto bill debuts and crypto industry wins big
It’s happening. Apart from the bipartisan bill recently introduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) And Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) to regulate crypto assets, the U.S. Treasury responds accordingly. President Joe Biden’s Presidential Order, which has released the latest information on efforts to create comprehensive regulations, requires planning by September.
see next: U.S. Treasury has launched an international cooperation plan to curb digital assets
Also, at the beginning of the second quarter, Umar Farooq, CEO of JPMorgan Chase’s Onyx by JPMorgan blockchain division, said JP Morgan’s digital currencies are already being used to make payments around the world.
Banks may take longer to launch their products than FinTechs, but CNBC said it will launch “on a scale that FinTech can dream of.” report.. “There aren’t many places to deploy a new platform, which can trade $ 1 billion a day in a matter of months, literally empty.”
There are other signs that banks are preparing cryptocurrencies. In June, Citibank selected a Swiss company to provide digital asset custody services.
Please note that we already offer Bitcoin futures trading and coin desks to our clients, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Said “We are witnessing the increasing digitization of traditional investment assets and new native digital assets,” said Okan Pekin, Global Head of Securities Services at Citibank. We are innovating and developing new features to support. ” It is becoming more and more relevant. “
And banks are seeing top talents who are increasingly reluctant to wait for banks to enter cryptocurrencies.
In April, Citi’s co-heads of digital assets, Alex Kriete and Greg Gilasole, set out to establish Blockworks, a crypto investment company, Motorus Capital Management. Said..
All of this suggests that banks will have a good time to discuss how cryptocurrencies will impact their bottom line in the near future.
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