Investors interested in crypto despite bear market: BNY Mellon Exec
Michael Demissie, the head of digital assets at Wall Street powerhouse Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), has revealed that investors remain very interested in the digital asset space amid the bear market.
According to a Reuters reportDemissie believes cryptocurrencies are here to stay as investors have not lost interest in the nascent industry, despite the collapse of several firms and other adverse events that occurred last year.
Demissie: Digital assets are here to stay
The BNY Mellon CEO voiced his opinion during a crypto panel hosted at Afore Consulting’s seventh annual FinTech and Regulatory Conference.
“What we’re seeing is that customers are certainly interested in digital assets, in general,” Demissie said.
To support his point, Demissie cited a survey conducted by the bank in October. The reportcalled “Migration To Digital Assets Accelerates”, revealed that institutional interest and investor demand for crypto assets increased.
Of the 271 institutional investors surveyed, 91% said they were interested in investing in tokenized products as it would revolutionize asset management and be good for the industry.
Furthermore, 88% of respondents said they were comfortable with the digital representation of cash through blockchain-based technology, and 86% of the bank’s customers said they used the “buy and hold” strategy, indicating that they viewed cryptocurrencies as long . term assets.
The crypto industry needs deeper regulation
Notably, 69% of investors revealed that their chances of getting involved in crypto would increase if highly rated institutions offered digital asset services. To this end, Demissie urged the US authorities to ensure regulatory clarity so that the industry could move forward.
“It is important that we navigate this area in a responsible manner. We absolutely need clear rules and regulations for the road. We need responsible players who can offer reliable services that live up to investors’ trust, he said.
Meanwhile, BNY Mellon recently appointed Caroline Butler as Managing Director of Digital Assets to help accelerate the bank’s crypto initiatives. This comes after the financial giant unveiled its crypto custody platform in October. As The crypto potato reportedThe move made BNY Mellon the first US bank to allow customers to deposit their crypto holdings.
