The nation’s second-largest bank by assets, Bank of America has launched research for ‘Too Large to Ignore’ digital assets.

Bank of America started the research coverage three months after it created a crypto research group. 

The Bank of America press release states that with 200 million users, digital assets are a $2 trillion market. It also exclaims that the sector is “too large to ignore.” A group of crypto analysts led by Alkesh Shah presented these in a new research note.

The analysts added, “We believe crypto-based digital assets could form an entirely new asset class. Bitcoin is important with a market value of ~$900bn. Still, the digital asset ecosystem is so much more: tokens that act like operating systems, decentralized applications (DApps) without middlemen, stable coins pegged to fiat currencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to replace national currencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) enabling connections between creators and fans.”

In the first half of 2021, Bank of America observed that venture capital investments in blockchain technology and digital assets surpassed $17 billion.

The analysts further wrote, “This creates a new generation of companies for digital assets trading, offerings and new applications across industries, including finance, supply chain, gaming, and social media. And yet we’re still in the early innings.”

The regulatory uncertainty is the only risk to digital assets that the analyst can point out at the moment.

Bank of America highlights this point. FOX is the largest media company on the NFT market with $100 million worth of Blockchain Creativity Labs funds. The chemicals firm Archer-Daniels-Midland made a list only because it uses blockchain technology for transactions in global agricultural trade. DraftKings is the only gambling company that operates an NFT marketplace with Tom Brady’s Autograph’s partnership.

Rushali Das

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA