According to report barclays citigroupavannomayocointelegraph, more than half of the top 100 banks by assets under management have invested in significant cryptocurrency and blockchain-based businesses and initiatives.
Global financial behemoths allegedly plan to invest more in early- and late-stage investment for projects and companies in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors.
55 out of the top 100 banks by assets under management (AUM), according to research by Blockdata, a blockchain market intelligence company, have some sort of exposure to the cutting-edge technology. The banks themselves or through their subsidiaries are apparently involved in both direct and indirect investments in cryptocurrency and decentralised ledger technology companies.
According to Blockdata’s analysis, Barclays, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs are among the most active investors in blockchain and cryptocurrency startups. JPMorgan and BNP Paribas are also cited as seasoned investors in the young market.
According to a KPMG analysis, these investments are a part of a bigger trend of considerable backing for blockchain businesses, with financing estimates already more than tripling those seen in 2020.
According to the research, banks who are exploring the cryptocurrency industry are focusing heavily on crypto custody. As a matter of fact, about a fifth of the top 100 banks by AUM are either creating crypto custody solutions or funding start-ups that provide custodial services for digital assets.
Several banks in the United States, Asia, and Europe are developing crypto custody platforms as part of their initial entrance into cryptocurrencies, as previously reported by Cointelegraph.
Related: Commercial banks gain a foothold in the industry thanks to cryptocurrency custody
Blockdata ascribed three primary factors—soaring earnings of cryptocurrency companies, regulatory developments, and the rising demand among bank customers for exposure to digital assets—to the expanding crypto and blockchain involvement among banks.
Yan Zhao, president of NYDIG, said back in May that banks were reconsidering their initial aversion to becoming involved with cryptocurrencies in light of the enormous income generated by crypto trading behemoths like Coinbase.
Despite the substantially smaller teams employed by these leading crypto startups, there remains a sizable revenue opportunity.
Despite only employing around 4% of Goldman Sachs’ staff and having a valuation of $58.09 billion as of the time of writing, Coinbase is valued at almost half as much as the bank, which is now ranked as the 13th largest in the world.
