HSBC’s negative stance on Bitcoin remains
HSBC Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn told Reuters on Monday that the banking giant has no intentions to launch a bitcoin trading desk or offer any crypto investment services to its customers.
Quinn did however say that he saw the number once cryptocurrency as more of an asset class than a payment means.
Volatility and lack of transparency are the main the reasons for the bank’s conservative position. Staying away from adopting the emerging technology, Quinn’s statement comes just after the recent dip with Bitcoin’s price having dropped as much as 50% to below $30,000 last week. This after a $65,000 all-time high in April.
Quinn said:
“Given the volatility we are not into Bitcoin as an asset class. If our clients want to be there then of course they are, but we are not promoting it as an asset class within our wealth management business.”
The HSBC Executive is also hesitant with regards to stablecoins and said:
“Then you get to stablecoins which do have some reserve backing behind them to address the stored value concerns, but it depends on who the sponsoring organization is plus the structure and accessibility of the reserve.”
Opposite directions
HSBC stance towards the crypto space runs counter to some of its rivals. Major traditional institutions like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup have either launched a cryptocurrency trading platform or considering this, while also enabling clients to invest in bitcoin and other crypto assets.
HSBS’s negative position is nothing new. It already does not allow money transfers to and from cryptocurrency exchanges. In April, HSBC removed MicroStrategy stocks from its offer due to the stocks being tied to Bitcoin price.
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Source: igaming
