Bank of America Makes U-Turn, Sets Up Crypto-Focused Team

Only a few months after calling out Bitcoin for its immensely volatile nature and supposed impracticality, Bank of America (BofA) has now assembled a new designated research team with digital assets as its primary objective.

Referencing an internal memo, Bloomberg recently reported that the behemoth multinational investment bank has become the latest of its class to hop on the cryptocurrency train. Reports show that the bank has put together a team has solely to research cryptocurrencies.

Although Bank of America is yet to produce full details on its crypto foray plan, Bloomberg revealed that Alkesh Shah, a founding member of Data & Innovation Strategy Group, has been appointed to lead the new endeavor. Shah will report to Michael Maras, who is currently leading fixed-income, currencies, and commodities research at the bank. A snippet from the memo read that:

“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.”

A spokeswoman from the bank confirmed the development but refused to provide extra details about the project.

Bank of America and Other Giant US Banks Now Believers of Crypto

The new development should make the growing “change of heart” category as the Wall Street giant has slammed the crypto industry for several years. Just a few months ago, the bank published a paper, which labeled Bitcoin “too volatile and impractical.” The document argued that the benchmark cryptocurrency had failed to live up to a store of value status.

Now, BofA has joined the bandwagon of other giant US banks going into the crypto industry, albeit a more favorable approach.

Recent reports show that Morgan Stanley now allows its institutional client access to BTC exposure through several funds. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has filed for a Bitcoin ETF, while JP Morgan plans to launch an actively managed BTC fund soon.

 

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