Australia’s Bank Sees ‘Bigger Risks in Not Participating’ in Crypto

The CEO of Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), sees significant dangers in not investing in bitcoin. “We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating,” he stated.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television in Sydney on Thursday, CEO Matt Comyn discussed the fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. CBA is an Australian international bank with operations in New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies are “very volatile and speculative,” Comyn believes that the treasury must be involved in crypto and blockchain technology due to the insatiable desire from clients to trade crypto. He stated:

We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating.

Furthermore, he believes that cryptocurrency will be around for a long time. According to Commbank’s CEO:

We also don’t think that the sector and the technology is going away anytime soon. So we want to understand it, we want to provide a competitive offering to customers with the right disclosures around risks.

The CBA boss also commented on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “Many central banks are looking at the applicability of a central-bank digital currency, what would that look like, what would the benefits be of that,” he stated. “That’s something we’d like to participate in. We think it’s important that Australia is building capability and piloting different versions of the future. We are hopeful we can play a role in that.”

Early this month, CBA said that, in collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, it will provide select clients the opportunity to purchase, trade, and retain crypto assets directly through its app. “CBA will give consumers with access to up to 10 selected crypto assets, including bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin,” the bank stated, adding, “The trial will begin in the coming weeks, and CBA wants to gradually roll out more capabilities to more customers in 2022.”

Patrick

Coincu News