Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Peake The bank said on Thursday it would work with U.S. regulators to examine whether it could deepen its involvement in the cryptocurrency market.
Peake was asked about his views on digital currencies under the pro-cryptocurrency Trump administration. On Tuesday, Acting Chief Securities and Exchange Commission Efforts initiated to develop regulatory measures frame for emerging asset classes.
“The question for us is really whether we, as a highly regulated financial institution, can act as a trader,” Peake told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the meeting. world economic forum In Davos, Switzerland.
“We will work with Treasury and other regulators to figure out how to provide this service in a safe way,” Peake said.
Morgan Stanley is a giant in the wealth management industry that has repeatedly outperformed its peers in the cryptocurrency space. This is the first company in the United States to offer Bitcoin Fund Offering services to its wealthy clients in 2021, having been the first to offer them last year Bitcoin ETF. Sources told CNBC at the time that this was because the company’s financial advisors were receiving questions from clients about the risks of Bitcoin.
But under the Biden administration, banks have been barred from deep exposure to the asset class; their trading desks are involved in Bitcoin derivatives but cannot own “physical” Bitcoin. One thing is Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon reiterated that sentiment this week.
Solomon told CNBC’s Sorkin that “right now, from a regulatory standpoint, we can’t own” Bitcoin. “If the world changes, we can discuss that,” he said.
“Escape velocity”
Bitcoin, the oldest cryptocurrency with origins dating back to the 2008 financial crisis, has maintained staying power through volatile trading and industry scandal Morgan Stanley’s picks believe years of hard work could prove crucial. One Bitcoin now trades for over $100,000.
“The broader question is whether some of these have matured and reached escape velocity,” Peake said. “You know, time is (cryptocurrency’s) friend; the longer you trade, the more perception becomes reality.”
Earlier this week, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan also said Willingness They will embrace cryptocurrencies if regulators allow them, saying they will become an alternative form of retail payment for customers of the second-largest U.S. bank by assets.
“If the rules come in and make it something you can actually do business with, you’re going to find that the banking system is going to be in trouble,” Moynihan said. explain. “We already have hundreds of blockchain patents and we know how to get into this space.”
