HSBC’s CEO Explains Why Crypto Is Not in the Banking Giant’s Future – According to CEO Noel Quinn, HSBC will not provide cryptocurrency services. Noting that HSBC is more negative of cryptocurrency than other banks, the executive stated, “I do worry about the sustainability of crypto valuations.”
In an interview with CNBC-TV18 last week, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn discussed his bank’s cryptocurrency stance. “As a bank, we’re not getting into the crypto world, crypto trading, or crypto exchanges,” he confirmed.
The HSBC CEO emphasized that cryptocurrencies are too volatile, saying, “I do worry about the sustainability of crypto valuations, and I have done so for a while. I’m not going to make any predictions about where it will go in the future.”
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Quinn proceeded to explain why HSBC is more negative on crypto than other banks. He stated: “As a product, I questioned its suitability for many of the consumers in the marketplace today. So that’s why HSBC is more negative on crypto than other banks.”
Quinn told Reuters in May last year, “I view bitcoin as more of an asset class than a payments vehicle, with very difficult questions about how to value it on clients’ balance sheets because it is so volatile.”
He added: “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.”
As for stablecoins, Quinn said at the time: “For similar reasons, we’re not rushing into stablecoins.” He explained that stablecoins “do have some reserve backing behind them to address the stored value concerns, but it depends on who the sponsoring organization is, plus the structure and accessibility of the reserve.”
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HSBC’s CEO Explains Why Crypto Is Not in the Banking Giant’s Future – In April of last year, HSBC Canada informed clients that its crypto policy had changed, stating that it would no longer facilitate the purchase or exchange of virtual currency-related products. Clients, for example, could no longer purchase Microstrategy (MSTR-US) shares through HSBC Invest Direct.
