The chief executive officer (CEO) of one of Australia’s largest banks says that the risks of not participating in cryptocurrency are “bigger” than the inherent market risk.
According to a report by Bitcoin.com, Matt Comyn, CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (aka “CommBank”) explained his opinion towards cryptoassets. During an interview with Bloomberg Television in Sydney, the banking chief called cryptoassets “very volatile and speculative,” but noted that financial institutions needed to be involved in the growing sector.
Comyn, whose bank serves businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the U.S. and the U.K., said that customers were demanding access to cryptoassets:
We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating.
Comyn clarified that his bank did not “have a view on the asset class itself,” and noted that crypto was volatile. However, he also explained that Bitcoin had achieved mainstream adoption and that blockchain technology was likely to become integral in the future:
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.
Comyn revealed banks were looking at the “applicability” of central-bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and what benefits they could provide. He mentioned that his bank would like to participate in the development of CBDCs and said it was “important” for Australia to build capability and pilot different versions of the future of digital assets.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
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