Moynihan, who runs the second-biggest bank by assets in the U.S., noted that crypto could become "just another form of payment," like Visa, Mastercard or Apple Pay. However, he steered clear of discussing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as investments or stores of value, calling it "a separate question."
Another major roadblock to Wall Street's adoption of cryptocurrencies is an accounting rule, issued by the SEC in 2022, that requires banks to classify cryptocurrencies as liabilities on their balance sheets. The rule subjects those assets to strict capital requirements, significantly raising the financial and regulatory risks of offering crypto custody services.