Bank of America to Launch Cryptocurrency Research Effort

Company’s global head of research labels space ‘one of the fastest growing emerging technology ecosystems’

article-image
share

key takeaways

  • Former head of firm’s global technology specialist team selected to lead the new initiative
  • Expansion comes a month after custody bank State Street launched a new division focused on the shift to digital finance

Bank of America is set to begin research coverage of cryptocurrency and digital assets, becoming the latest financial institution looking to expand its footprint in the space.

In an internal memo obtained by Blockworks, Candace Browning, the bank’s global head of research, called cryptocurrencies and digital assets “one of the fastest growing emerging technology ecosystems.”

The sector is currently valued at about $2 trillion, inflows to new exchange-traded products are at $50 billion and venture capital firms are making significant investments in crypto and blockchain companies, she added. 

“We are uniquely positioned to provide thought leadership due to our strong industry research analysis, market-leading global payments platform and our blockchain expertise,” Browning wrote in the note to colleagues.

The company has chosen Alkesh Shah to lead the effort, which will cover global cryptocurrency, digital assets and enabling technologies within the space. He will report to Michael Maras, the bank’s head of global fixed income, currencies and commodities research. Mamta Jain and Andrew Moss, who joined Bank of America since 2014 and 2019, respectively, will join Shah on the research team.

Shah, who began working for the company in 2013, will continue delivering the firm’s insights through mobile channels, including Insight Mobile, the Global Banking & Markets content and the CRM app, Browning said in the memo. He previously led the firm’s global technology specialist team.

A spokesperson declined to comment further beyond the memo.

Bank of America’s latest research coverage expansion comes about a month after custody bank State Street, which oversees $40 trillion in assets, launched a new division focused on the shift to digital finance.

State Street CEO Ron O’Hanley said at the time that he expects digital assets to be one of the most significant forces impacting financial services over the next five years.

Goldman Sachs revealed in May that it would offer bitcoin derivatives to clients as well as opening a dedicated trading desk for cryptocurrency. The Wall Street bank continued the expansion of its digital asset offering last month by naming Galaxy Digital the liquidity provider for its bitcoin futures block trades.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

4.png

Research

This months PPGC covered four main areas. Firstly, debriefing the progress and status of the mainnet implementation of the Ahmedabad hard fork. Secondly, a retrospective on the testnet phase of the Ahemdabad Hard Fork. Thirdly, an update on PIP-36 which involves replaying failed state syncs. Lastly, PIP-47 which pushes upgrades to the Polygon Protocol Council.

article-image

And could BitGo’s offering dump the entire stablecoin market on its head?

article-image

Institutions to test out the settlement of “digital assets and currencies” on a network that annually carries more than 5 billion financial messages

article-image

After Bitwise’s XRP ETF filing this week, one industry watcher notes: “Politics will determine whether this happens soon or in a few years”

article-image

Plus, a look back at some of the SEC’s biggest enforcement moves under Gurbir Grewal

article-image

The forward-looking financial system is being championed by several contributors to India’s UPI digital money system

article-image

Multiple teams are pursuing integration cross-chain and off-chain