Bank of America CEO explains when banks will adopt crypto for payments

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan shared his thoughts on the future of crypto in banking.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Moynihan emphasized that the industry is ready to adopt crypto for transactions, but only if the regulatory landscape is well defined.

Crypto adoption depends on clear rules

During the discussion, the executive said that if guidelines were implemented to make it possible to do business, then the industry would strongly engage.

“If the rules come into effect and make this a real thing that you can actually do business with, you will find that the banking system will be hit hard on the transactional side,” he said.

He also emphasized that these organizations would need “non-anonymous and verified” transactions to move forward with crypto adoption.

Furthermore, he highlighted that BOA has already invested in blockchain technology, mentioning that it holds hundreds of patents in this area. The organization also already processes most transactions digitally.

When asked if he sees crypto and Bitcoin as a threat to the US dollar, Moynihan did not express concern. Instead, it saw digital assets as another payment method that could be used alongside established options such as Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay.

These comments come amid continued caution within the industry towards crypto, largely due to regulatory uncertainties. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, for example, has openly criticized Bitcoin. In a recent interview with CBS, the CEO said the flagship cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value, adding that it is often used by criminals and fraudsters. Despite this, he acknowledged the usefulness of blockchain technology and that the United States will one day have a digital currency.

Regulatory challenges

Compliance challenges for US banks have been compounded by the Biden administration’s alleged launch of “Operation Choke Point 2.0” to prevent them from developing crypto-related services.

This included a policy called the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. The rule required financial institutions to treat cryptocurrencies held by customers as liabilities on their balance sheets, making it more difficult for them to offer services to those customers. As a result, many US banks have either suspended or slowed down their crypto initiatives.

There have been unsuccessful efforts to overcome these obstacles, including a resolution passed by the US Senate last May to lift the ban on banks offering cryptocurrency custody services. Additionally, in September, a group of Republican lawmakers called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to repeal the “disastrous” SAB 121 rule.

In the future, the situation may change under the leadership of President Donald Trump, who is expected to clarify the guidelines regarding digital assets. However, the details of how his administration will approach such regulation remain unclear, especially since crypto was not included in the list of executive orders signed on his first day in office.