Wall Street Titans “Ready to Go Bigger in Crypto”: CNBC

• Trump’s repeal of SAB 121 is set to enable banks to collaborate with crypto firms, fostering optimism in the financial sector.
• Morgan Stanley plans to deepen its crypto involvement by working with federal regulators while Bank of America’s CEO highlighted the potential for crypto as a payment option comparable to Visa or Mastercard.

Amid Donald Trump’s push for crypto by signing an executive order to build a digital assets stockpile this week, several Wall Street CEOs have extended their support and are “ready to go bigger in crypto”, as mentioned in our previous article. They said that if the Trump administration rolls out favorable crypto policies, the billionaires are willing to bet bigger on digital assets. Furthermore, Elon Musk, a close aid of Donald Trump, has initiated a conversation about using blockchain technology for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

US Banks to Work With Crypto Firms

Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said:

“For us, the equation is really around whether we, as a highly regulated financial institution, can act as transactions. “We’ll be working with Treasury and the other regulators to figure out how we can offer that in a safe way”.

For a very long period, the US banks have been under regulatory pressure to stay away from the crypto world. As part of the popular Operation Choke Point 2.0, several crypto-friendly banks like Silvergate were forced into bankruptcy just because of their crypto ties.

However, things are set to change under the Trump administration as he issued an executive order to repeal the controversial SAB 121, which will now allow banks to work in sync with crypto firms. The growing optimism among bank executives at Davos this week stems from President Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.

Pick stated that Morgan Stanley plans to collaborate with federal regulators to explore the potential for expanding its involvement in cryptocurrency markets. The bank has taken a more proactive approach compared to its Wall Street counterparts.

In 2021, Morgan Stanley became the first major U.S. bank to provide its high-net-worth clients access to Bitcoin funds. By August of last year, it led again by allowing its financial advisors to actively pitch clients on select Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) introduced earlier in the year.

Bank of America Joins the Bandwagon

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan expressed openness to adopting cryptocurrencies as a payment option. However, it will be subject to favorable regulatory shift under the new administration. Speaking at Davos, Moynihan highlighted that clear regulatory guidelines could pave the way for wider adoption.

Moynihan suggested that crypto has the potential to evolve into “just another form of payment,” comparable to Visa, Mastercard, or Apple Pay. In an interview with CNBC, Moynihan said:

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

However, President Donald Trump has already denied the possibility of allowing a CBDC, as previously mentioned in our report.

Elon Musk to Incorporate Blockchain At DOGE

As per the latest Bloomberg report, Elon Musk has already initiated conversations to incorporate blockchain technology at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has floated the concept of using blockchain to streamline government operations, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The idea reportedly includes using blockchain technology to track federal spending, secure data, facilitate payments, and even manage government properties. Individuals associated with the DOGE effort have also engaged with representatives from multiple public blockchain platforms to assess their capabilities, according to another source with knowledge of these discussions.