Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of finance and cryptography.
HSBC’s CEO explains why crypto is not in the banking giant’s future – Finance Bitcoin News
Banking giant HSBC will not offer crypto services, according to CEO Noel Quinn. Noting that HSBC is more negative about crypto than other banks, he stressed: “I worry about the sustainability of crypto valuations.”
HSBC won’t get into crypto, CEO says
HSBC CEO Noel Quinn spoke about the bank’s stance on cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC-TV18 last week. He confirmed:
As a bank, we do not enter the crypto world, crypto trading, crypto exchanges.
Stressing that cryptocurrencies are too volatile, the HSBC boss said: “I worry about the sustainability of crypto valuations, and I have for some time. I’m not going to predict where it will go in the future.”
Quinn went on to explain why HSBC is more negative on crypto than other banks. He stated:
As a product, I questioned its suitability for many of the consumers on the market today. So that’s why HSBC is more negative on crypto than other banks.
Last May, Quinn told Reuters: “I see bitcoin as more of an asset class than a means of payment, with very difficult questions about how to value it on clients’ balance sheets because it’s so volatile.”
He added: “Given the volatility, we are not interested in bitcoin as an asset class … We do not promote it as an asset class in our wealth management business.”
As for stablecoins, Quinn said at the time: “For similar reasons, we’re not rushing into stablecoins.” He explained that stablecoins “have some reserve backing behind them to address stored value concerns, but it depends on who the sponsoring organization is, plus the structure and availability of the reserve.”
Last April, HSBC Canada notified customers that its crypto policy had changed, saying it would not facilitate the purchase or exchange of products related to virtual currencies. For example, customers could no longer buy shares in Microstrategy (MSTR-US) through HSBC Invest Direct.
What do you think of HSBC CEO Noel Quinn’s comments on cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.
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