CEO Noel Quinn of the world’s largest bank HSBC said that no crypto services would be provided. HSBC is more against cryptocurrencies than other banks, it should be noted. The executive emphasised that while he does worry about the sustainability of cryptocurrency values, he will not anticipate its future course.
Noel Quinn, the chief executive of HSBC, stated in an interview with a national TV programme last week that the bank will not enter the cryptocurrency market, including trading or exchanges.
Quinn then went on to discuss why HSBC is less supportive of cryptocurrencies than other banks. He asks if bitcoin as a product is suitable for many of the buyers in the market right now.
When asked how to assess bitcoin on clients’ balance sheets due to its extreme volatility, Quinn told Reuters in May of last year that he saw it more as an asset class than a means of payment.
“Given the volatility, we are not into bitcoin as an asset class … We are not promoting it as an asset class within our wealth management business.”
HSBC is also delaying its entry into stablecoins for similar reasons. According to him, stablecoins do have some reserve backing to address the issues with stored value, but it depends on the sponsoring organisation as well as the reserve’s structure and accessibility.
Recently, HSBC Canada informed customers that its cryptocurrency policy had changed in April of last year and said that it would no longer support the purchase or exchange of goods related to virtual currencies. Customers could no longer use HSBC Invest Direct to purchase shares of Microstrategy
However, international financial institutions like JP Morgan, DBS, and Goldman Sachs intend to set up shop in the Metaverse and expose themselves either directly or indirectly to the cryptocurrency industry.