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The chief executive told Reuters in an interview this week that his bank has no plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk, and “given the volatility, we are not in bitcoin as a class of business. ‘active’.
HSBC confirmed Quinn’s remarks to CNN Business but declined to comment further.
Bitcoin (XBT) is currently on a roller coaster. Virtual currency has continually made headlines for its wild price swings and has lost over 30% in value this month alone, from around $ 58,000 to just over $ 39,000 per coin, according to the CoinDesk cryptocurrency tracker.
Bitcoin is still up over 30% so far this year.
One of the main triggers of recent unpredictability has been Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla (TSLA) often creates a sensation among investors after sharing his take on cryptocurrencies. Some have also tried to search his tweets for clues to Tesla’s investment plans for bitcoin. China has also rocked the market by signaling new plans to curb the industry. Last week, Chinese financial and banking regulators asked financial institutions and payment companies not to participate in any transactions involving cryptocurrencies, or to provide related services to their customers. on bitcoin mining and trading activity. “
Officials elsewhere have also expressed concern recently. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned on Monday that cryptocurrencies could be “dangerous.”
“It’s easy to get carried away by financial innovation,” he said during a virtual Treasury select committee hearing. “That’s why I’m skeptical of crypto assets, frankly, because they’re dangerous and there’s huge enthusiasm out there.”
The HSBC (HSBC) comments come as other financial heavyweights jump on the crypto bandwagon. In 2019, less than two years after JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud,” his bank unveiled its own digital coin. Morgan Stanley (MS) has also started offering some of its clients a way to invest in bitcoin. , while Goldman Sachs (GS) recently relaunched its cryptocurrency trading desk.
Mathew McDermott, global head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, discussed the decision to return to space in an interview published by researchers at the bank last week, saying there was more “demand from customers, pure and simple”.
“Bitcoin is now considered an investment asset,” McDermott added. “There is no doubt that ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) plays a role.”
Billionaire Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has also joined in the action. In an interview with CoinDesk published this week, he said he “would rather have bitcoin than a bond,” revealing that he owns some of the currency himself.
– Clare Sebastian contributed to this report.
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