A new report from blockchain research firm Blockdata suggests that over half of the world’s biggest banks are getting exposure in crypto and blockchain companies.
The firm says that out of the 100 biggest banks by assets under management (AUM), 55 of them have investments in crypto or blockchain-related businesses, either directly or through subsidiaries.
Blockdata also names the most active banks based on the number of investments in blockchain firms.
At the top of the list is British universal bank Barclays with investments in 19 blockchain firms, followed by American investment bank Citigroup with nine investments, global investment bank Goldman Sachs with eight, financial services and investment bank JPMorgan Chase with seven, and French international banking group BNP Paribas with six.
The firm says that investment opportunities in the crypto custody space have attracted nearly a quarter of the top-100 banks.
“The most noteworthy example of where banks are investing is crypto custody.
Despite being very vocal about how bad Bitcoin supposedly is, many can’t ignore the potential revenue streams and importance of having a strong strategic position in the crypto economy.
Based on our findings, 23 of the top 100 banks by assets under management are building custody solutions, or investing in the companies that provide them.”
Blockdata also says that three main developments convinced many of the top banks to start providing crypto-related services to clients.
“[1] Seeing cryptocurrency exchanges with a fraction of their staff become substantially more profitable or valuable than many banks. This started as early as 2018, when Binance, the leading exchange at the time, recorded $54 million more profit than Deutsche Bank, with just 200 vs 100,000 employees. More recently, Coinbase’s valuation was higher than Goldman Sachs, with just 4% of their employees.
[2] Countless requests from their clients to provide Bitcoin solutions.
[3] A change in regulations in 2020 that allows banks to offer crypto custody solutions.”
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