Bank of America CEO on When Banks Will Embrace Crypto for Payments

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has shared his thoughts on the future of crypto in the banking sector.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Moynihan stressed that the industry is ready to embrace crypto for transactions, but only if the regulatory landscape is well-defined.

Crypto Adoption Depends on Clear Rules

In the discussion, the executive stated that if directives were implemented that would make it feasible to conduct business, then the industry would strongly engage.

“If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you will find the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it,” he said.

He also pointed out that these organizations would need ‘non-anonymous, verified’ transactions to move forward with crypto adoption.

Further, he highlighted that BOA has already invested in blockchain technology, mentioning that it holds hundreds of patents in the area. The organization also already processes most transactions digitally.

When asked whether he saw crypto and Bitcoin as a threat to the U.S. dollar, Moynihan did not express concerns. Instead, he viewed digital assets as another payment method that could be used alongside established options like Visa, Mastercard, and Apple Pay.

These comments come amid ongoing caution within the sector toward crypto, largely due to regulatory uncertainties. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, for example, has openly criticized Bitcoin. In a recent interview with CBS, the chief executive said the flagship cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value, adding that it is often used by criminals and fraudsters. Despite this, he has acknowledged the utility of blockchain technology and that the U.S. will one day have a digital currency.

Regulatory Challenges

The compliance-related challenges for U.S. banks have been compounded by the Biden administration allegedly launching “Operation Choke Point 2.0” to restrict them from developing crypto-related services.

This included a policy called the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. The rule required financial institutions to treat customer-held crypto as liabilities on their balance sheets, making it harder for them to offer services to such clients. As a result, many U.S. banks have either paused or slowed down any crypto initiatives they may have had.

There have been unsuccessful efforts to address these barriers, including a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate last May to lift the ban on banks offering crypto custody services. Additionally, in September, a group of Republican lawmakers called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to rescind the “disastrous” SAB 121 rule.

Looking ahead, the situation may shift under the leadership of President Donald Trump, who is expected to clarify guidelines around digital assets. However, the specifics of how his administration will approach such regulation remain unclear, especially since crypto was left off the list of executive orders signed on his first day in office.