The CEO of Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), sees significant risks in not investing in bitcoin. He explained, “We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating.”
In an interview with Bloomberg Television in Sydney on Thursday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn discussed the fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, or Commbank, is an Australian international bank with operations in New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies are “very unpredictable and speculative,” Comyn believes that banks must be involved in crypto and blockchain technology due to the unquenchable demand for crypto trading from customers. He stated:
” We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating.“
While emphasizing, “It’s important to say we don’t have a view on the asset class itself,” he noted, “We see it as a very volatile and speculative asset.”
Furthermore, the bank believes that crypto is here to stay. The CEO of Commbank opined:
“We also don’t think that the sector and the technology is going away anytime soon. So we want to understand it, we want to provide a competitive offering to customers with the right disclosures around risks.”
The CEO of the Commonwealth Bank also spoke on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “Many central banks are considering the feasibility of a central-bank digital currency, what that would look like, and what the benefits would be,” he said. “That is something we would like to be a part of.” We believe it is critical that Australia develops competence and pilots many potential scenarios. We’re hoping to play a part in that.”
In a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, the bank said earlier this month that select customers will be able to buy, sell, and hold crypto assets directly through its app. The bank said, adding that “The pilot will start in the coming weeks and CBA intends to progressively roll out more features to more customers in 2022.”
