Recently, Bank of America launched its digital asset research with the release of a report entitled "Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning,".
BOA said that digital assets are an over $2 trillion market value with more than 200M users, and have the potential to remould every industry by improving efficiency and minimizing friction across transactions. Already, a lot of companies are forming within this new ecosystem, creating a new asset class.
The report noted that the "digital asset universe is too large to ignore,". Bank's new cryptocurrencies and digital assets team is headed by insider Alkesh Shah, a former technology analyst.
According to BOA the primer gives customers an investment framework for the digital asset landscape. It gives analysis through a variety of lenses including tokens that act like operating systems; applications powered by smart contracts; central bank digital currencies that could replace money; stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies; and NFTs that connect artists and fans in a different way.
"Bitcoin is important....but the digital asset ecosystem is so much more. Our research aims to explore the implications across industries including finance, technology, supply chains, social media and gaming." said Shah. The venture capital investments in digital assets and blockchain technology surpassed $17B in the first half of 2021, dwarfing the $5.5B from the same period of 2020.
BOA said that it offers a market-leading global payments platform and blockchain expertise, and the incorporation of digital asset research further reinforces the depth and breadth of its offerings for investors.
Regardless of wild price swings, digital assets like bitcoin have seen a broad institutional interest this year, with large Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs Group having restarted their crypto trading desk.
Bank of America is USA’s second-largest bank by assets serving approx 66 million consumers (worldwide) and small business clients with 4,300 retail financial centers, and approximately 17,000 ATMs. The bank provides digital banking to 41 million active users, including 32 million mobile users.
