Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan U.S. banks will adopt cryptocurrencies for payments if regulators allow it, U.S. banks said on Tuesday.
CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the head of the nation’s second-largest bank by assets how the industry’s attitude toward cryptocurrencies will change given the president’s tenure Donald Trumpof enthusiasm for digital currencies.
“If the rules are put in place and make it something that you can actually do business with, you’re going to find that the banking system will play a role in terms of transactions,” Moynihan said in an interview. world economic forum In Davos, Switzerland.
Bank of America has largely avoided letting customers conduct retail transactions with cryptocurrencies, although their institutional trading and wealth management units have participated in the Bitcoin ETF market. Leaders in the industry include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimonhave denounced Bitcoin as the currency of criminals and fraudsters.
“If you walk down the street here and buy lunch, right, if you can use visa, MasterCarddebit card, apple payments, etc., it’s just another form of payment,” Moynihan explained. “We already have hundreds of blockchain patents, we know how to get into that space. “
The veteran Bank of America CEO did not address the idea of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as investments or stores of value, saying it was “really a separate issue.”
