Banks increasingly keen to enter crypto space say industry experts
Digital asset firms which specialise in serving institutional clients say that banks are increasingly willing to enter the crypto space.
At the Token2049 crypto conference held in London today leading figures in the digital financial services space came together to discuss the state of institutional adoption in the crypto market.
Michael Moro CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a digital trading prime broker was confident that the majority of banks are poised to enter the crypto market. “I do expect banks to get involved in the next 12 months,” said Moro.
“From a size perspective we’re there,” he added, pointing to crypto’s global market capitalisation rising well above $2tn. “You don’t get to that kind of figure without institutional investment.”
Leaps and Bounds
Darren Jordan, the Managing Director of EMEA at BitGo, a company which holds digital assets on behalf of institutions agreed that progress is being made when it comes to banks investing in crypto.
“I think we’ve just come on huge leaps and bounds over the past few years,” said Jordan, warning that the crypto market’s infrastructure remains a barrier to widespread institutional uptake.
“Clients don’t feel comfortable holding assets on an exchange,” he added. “There’s work to be done, but we are definitely moving in the right direction.”
Forget Bitcoin
Jakob Palmstierna, the Global Head of Product at GSR, said that the crypto market is “increasingly sophisticated” helping to attract institutional interest.
“Its not for the faint hearted to go in and extract alpha from that market,” said Palmstierna, who urged investors to turn away from Bitcoin and towards new “disruptive technologies” in the market.
Read more: Exclusive: Institutional investors and wealth managers increasingly ‘test’ crypto market