America’s Biggest Banks Moving Towards Bitcoin Acceptance
America’s biggest banks are closer than ever to accepting Bitcoin. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all been in the news recently as they complete their about turns.
In 2017, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin a ‘fraud’ and ‘worse than tulip bulbs,’, a call the fraudulent CEO has since admitted regret over.
Goldman Sachs hasn’t always been as interested in Bitcoin either. In May last year, a leaked report from the bank claimed Bitcoin was ‘a conduit for illegal activity, including Ponzi schemes and ransomware.’
Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman has never publicly spoken negative about Bitcoin, but did call it ‘highly speculative’, but did agree it was ‘more than a fad’.
So what is it that’s making the the US’ biggest banks change their tune on Bitcoin?
JP Morgan Changing Their Bitcoin Tune
JP Morgan COO Daniel Pinto has admitted that the investment bank will have no choice but to get involved with Bitcoin and digital assets ‘if it becomes a broadly-used asset class.’
It’s understood that the America’s biggest bank held a town hall meeting for thousands of JPMorgan Chase traders and sales personnel last month and Bitcoin took up much of the time.
When asked when the bank would get involved with Bitcoin, COO Daniel Pinto explained that the bank was open minded about Bitcoin and an informed decision would be made when ‘a critical mass of clients wanted the firm to trade Bitcoin.’
‘If over time an asset class develops that is going to be used by different asset managers and investors, we will have to be involved,’ Pinto said in an interview with CNBC’s Hugh Son after the town hall meeting. ‘The demand isn’t there yet, but I’m sure it will be at some point.’
Hugh Son was speaking on Squawk Box yesterday about the remarks, and he said ‘JPMorgan had to grapple with demand coming within from their own traders, people who are actually looking at charts of Bitcoin and truly salivating at the volatility and the surge of this.’
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Making Inroads To Bitcoin
It’s not only JP Morgan who is looking into Bitcoin. It’s understood that Goldman Sachs held a private forum with Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and its employees and clients last week.
Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz has long expounded Bitcoin and it’s believed he was the main speaker at the 90-minute virtual conference.
The investment bank has even begun hiring more Bitcoin and digital currency experts for its human resources team, and recently issued guidance on the peaceful coexistence of Bitcoin and gold as macro hedges.
As well as Goldman making inroads towards Bitcoin, Morgan Stanley has been in the news recently after gaining exposure to Bitcoin with a large investment in MicroStrategy.
Bitcoin Maximalist reported last month that the investment bank had boosted its stake in MicroStrategy to 10.9% of the business intelligence firm, investing over $600 million snapping up 792,627 $MSTR shares.
It’s Inevitable That The US’ Biggest Banks Will Integrate Bitcoin
The Bitcoin narrative from the the US’ biggest banks is quickly changing. They understand as well as most the power of Bitcoin, and their clients are pressuring them more than ever to start offering it.
With the likes of MicroStrategy, Tesla and Grayscale investing huge amounts, the institutional demand for Bitcoin is clear. Many other corporations will only deal with institutional grade banks, however.
America’s biggest banks understand this, and they are clearly making inroads to add Bitcoin. However, they do face the highest regulatory scrutiny among financial firms.
Because of this they have been reluctant to get involved in the Bitcoin space, but with the US banking regulator giving banks the green light to open custody services, it’s only a matter of time before America’s biggest banks start integrating Bitcoin into their services.
