Change of Heart? Bank of America Has Reportedly Set Up Crypto Research Team

Just a few months after bashing bitcoin for its enhanced volatility and supposed impracticality, Bank of America has reportedly set up a new designated research team to look into digital assets.

• Citing an internal memo, Bloomberg reported earlier that the giant US multinational investment bank is the next in line to join the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
• According to the coverage, Bank of America has already established a new dedicated team to research cryptocurrencies.
• Although few details are known as of now, Bloomberg said Alkesh Shah will be at the forefront of the new endeavor. He will report to Michael Maras – currently leading fixed-income, currencies, and commodities research at the bank.

• “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.” – the memo purportedly reads.

• A spokeswoman from the bank confirmed the news but failed to provide more details about the project.
• This development could go in the growing in popularity “change of heart” category as the Wall Street behemoth has bashed the cryptocurrency industry for years.
• Most recently, just a few short months ago, a paper published by the bank called bitcoin “too volatile and impractical.” Furthermore, the document asserted that the primary cryptocurrency had failed as a store of value.
• Now, though, BofA seems to be joining other giant US banks with this significantly more favorable approach.
• As previously reported, Morgan Stanley enabled its institutional investors to receive BTC exposure through several funds. Another former critique – Goldman Sachs – even filed for a Bitcoin ETF, while JPMorgan – whose CEO called Bitcoin a “fraud” years ago – will reportedly launch an actively managed BTC fund.