River said Monday that more than half of the top U.S. banks have begun offering or announced plans for Bitcoin services, including trading and custody, and shared a list of the top 25 institutions noting “60% of the top US banks are into Bitcoin.”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said at the Davos forum that many banking leaders are warming to crypto and posted his observations on social media (see his post here).
UBS is reportedly exploring opening Bitcoin and Ether trading to wealthy clients.
Among U.S. banks, JPMorgan Chase has said it is considering crypto trading, Wells Fargo offers Bitcoin-backed loans to institutions, and Citigroup is exploring institutional custody services.
Those three banks together hold more than $7.3 trillion in assets, according to Forbes.
Banks remain wary of yield-bearing stablecoins, citing systemic risk concerns.
Ten large banks have shown little interest so far, including Bank of America, which has not announced Bitcoin services and holds roughly $2.7 trillion in assets.
Other major institutions listed without plans include Capital One and Truist Bank, with about $694 billion and $536 billion in assets respectively.
