With Donald Trump re-election as U.S. president, the global cryptocurrency sector expects many pro-Crypto policies in the coming months. In a recent interview with CNBC, the head of Bank of America (BOA) said that once regulations on the department are more clearly defined, the banking system will “work” in cryptocurrency transactions. The comments from the BOA head came as the US SEC established a task force and began drafting regulations related to cryptocurrencies after Trump returned to the White House on Monday.
BOA CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview Tuesday that once the cryptographic rules become clearer, these virtual assets can be classified as real fintech tools that can be integrated into existing financial services and businesses.
“We already have hundreds of patents on blockchain and we know how to get into the field. If the rules are made, you’ll find that the banking system will be tough in terms of transactions.”
BOA is headquartered in Charlotte, USA and was founded in 1998. The bank has distanced itself from exposing customers to services that focus on crypto, but has expressed its views on Crypto in the past. In October 2021, the bank released a report saying the cryptocurrency sector has become too big to ignore. Even at the time, BOA had said it would explore cryptocurrencies in depth due to the strong interest of institutional investors.
Currently, Moynihan is waiting for President Trump’s cryptocurrency-related execution orders to determine the scope of action of BOA around crypto services. During his re-election campaign, Trump previously served as the 45th president of the United States, and he had promised to make the United States the world’s cryptocurrency capital. He also talked about making Bitcoin a reserve asset. According to CoinMarketCap, the current valuation of the crypto market is US$36.2 trillion (approximately Rs 312,615,500 crore).
Amid regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies in most parts of the world, many traditional banks have shy away from interactions with volatile sectors. However, despite the lack of clarity in the relevant laws, some financial institutions have tried crypto services.
In recent years, Goldman Sachs and Hong Kong’s ZA Bank have been involved in crypto-related services.
Despite the banking industry’s ready for cryptocurrencies, Moynihan avoids commenting on the potential of crypto assets like Bitcoin as a long-term investment option.
