The CEO of Bank of America recently announced that the US financial sector is ready to change its approach to crypto if the new pro-industry administration sets the regulatory framework to allow it.
Banks Ready To Embrace Crypto Payments
In an interview with CNBC, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan affirmed that the US banking industry is ready to embrace digital asset payments. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the CEO stated that banks will “come hard” to crypto if the US regulators allow it.
American Banks have abstained from allowing customers to use crypto assets for retail transactions. However, the financial institutions have participated in markets for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through their trading and wealth management arms.
Moynihan considers that the banking industry’s approach to digital assets could change with the new industry-friendly administration in office. The community expects the Trump administration to be more welcoming toward digital assets and set clearer regulations.
If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you’ll find that the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it.
Moreover, the CEO considers that, if allowed, crypto payments would be “just another form of payment” like Visa, Mastercard, debit cards, or Apple Play. He added that the financial giant is ready to enter the sector. “We have hundreds of patents on blockchain already, we know how to enter the field,” Moynihan announced.
However, the report notes that he didn’t address the possibility of digital assets as an investment or store of value, stating that it is “really a separate question.”
‘Trump Effect’ To Favor The Industry
Similarly, different figures have recently commented on the approach of the new crypto-friendly administration. As reported by Reuters, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire “expects US executive orders ‘imminently’ from President Donald Trump.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “made it punitive for banks and financial institutions and corporations even to hold crypto assets on their balance sheet. That’s something I think to watch closely in terms of EOs (executive orders),” Allaire said during the Reuters Global Markets Forum at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He added that it could allow banks to trade crypto, offer digital asset investments to wealthy clients, and hold it in portfolios. Moreover, Allaire anticipates renewed activity on digital asset regulations from the US Congress. “We expect Committee work to be very active, literally in the coming weeks,” he stated.
Reuters also reported that other industry figures await swift action from President Trump. Coinbase CPO Faryar Shirzad stated that the company expects the new SEC to act, which “will almost certainly bring banks much more into the custodial space.”
Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes Trump’s second term will likely draw “a lot of investment into crypto.” Armstrong asserted that “the Trump effect cannot be denied here,” concluding that having “the leader of the largest GDP country in the world come out undeniably and say that he wants to be the first crypto president” is unprecedented.
Industry figures remain optimistic about the upcoming administration and the future of the crypto sector despite no mention of crypto during Trump’s Inauguration Day. Several experts maintain that the industry-related issues, including the potential Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, will be addressed soon.
Bitcoin trades at $104,047 on the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
