Change of Heart? Bank of America Has Reportedly Set Up Crypto Research Team

Forum 2 years ago

Change of Heart? Bank of America Has Reportedly Set Up Crypto Research Team

Bank of America is the latest US banking behemoth to outline plans to enter the cryptocurrency space.

Just a few months after bashing bitcoin for its enhanced volatility and supposed impracticality, Bank of America has reportedly set up a new designated research team to look into digital assets.

• Citing an internal memo, Bloomberg reported earlier that the giant US multinational investment bank is the next in line to join the cryptocurrency bandwagon.

• According to the coverage, Bank of America has already established a new dedicated team to research cryptocurrencies.

• Although few details are known as of now, Bloomberg said Alkesh Shah will be at the forefront of the new endeavor. He will report to Michael Maras – currently leading fixed-income, currencies, and commodities research at the bank.

• “Cryptocurrencies and digital assets constitute one of the fastest-growing emerging technology ecosystems. We are uniquely positioned to provide thought leadership due to our strong industry research analysis, market-leading global payments platform, and our blockchain expertise.” – the memo purportedly reads.

• A spokeswoman from the bank confirmed the news but failed to provide more details about the project.

• This development could go in the growing in popularity “change of heart” category as the Wall Street behemoth has bashed the cryptocurrency industry for years.

• Most recently, just a few short months ago, a paper published by the bank called bitcoin “too volatile and impractical.” Furthermore, the document asserted that the primary cryptocurrency had failed as a store of value.

• Now, though, BofA seems to be joining other giant US banks with this significantly more favorable approach.

• As previously reported, Morgan Stanley enabled its institutional investors to receive BTC exposure through several funds. Another former critique – Goldman Sachs – even filed for a Bitcoin ETF, while JPMorgan – whose CEO called Bitcoin a “fraud” years ago – will reportedly launch an actively managed BTC fund.