Bank of America, the second-large bank in the United States, has reportedly established a new research team for cryptocurrency. The new team will be dedicated entirely to researching digital assets and investigating all matters related to cryptocurrency. But does such innovation mean that the bank is ready to embrace crypto or are they more concerned with the threat it can bring to their industry?
As reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, Alkesh Shah from the data and innovations strategy group as the Bank of America will be leading the research team to look into digital assets. Accompanying Alkesh Shah are Andrew Moss and Mamta Jain of Merrill Lynch’s digital innovations group at the Bank of America. All three leading members will be reporting to Michael Waras who is in charge of overseeing global currencies and commodities research.
The crypto research team was established after Candace Browning, the Bank of America’s head of global research, made her statements regarding the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies. According to Browning, cryptocurrencies and digital assets are the fastest-growing technological ecosystem. According to Candice Browning, the bank’s research team is in the right position to provide thought leadership to its strong research analysis, blockchain expertise, and market-leading global payments platform.
Some analysts at the Bank of America have criticized digital assets and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin due to their volatility. During his testimony before the U.S Senate Banking Committee in May, CEO Brian Moynihan stated the Bank of America will not lend against digital assets, nor would it provide banking services to companies whose business ventures indulge in cryptocurrency. He added the Bank of America will refrain from lending to companies that facilitate cryptocurrency trading and investment.
The bank’s recent actions contradict Moynihan’s previous statements in May and have taken steps toward adopting cryptocurrencies. A report in May claimed the bank had joined the Paxos Settlement Service, thus allowing customers to use blockchain technology to settle investment trades.
