Bank of America Chair and CEO Brian Moynihan reaffirmed the bank’s cautious approach to stablecoins during its earnings call on Wednesday, pointing to a lack of regulatory clarity and uncertain client demand as reasons for holding back.
"That's still going on as we speak," Moynihan said in reference to the unsettled regulatory landscape while also downplaying the current need for such offerings.
“The business cases for it as incremental value are still to be proven, frankly,” he said. “We are not seeing, you know, clients knocking on the door and saying, please give me this right now.”
While the bank has “done a lot of work” looking into stablecoins, Moynihan emphasized that adoption would depend on clear legal frameworks and demonstrated demand.
“Expect our company to move on that. At the end of day, the debate will be how big an item this will be and how much more an effective payment stream it is.”
The remarks contrast with his comments from February, when Moynihan suggested Bank of America would swiftly enter the market if regulations allowed.
“It’s pretty clear that there’s going to be a stablecoin, which is going to be fully dollar-backed. If they make that legal, we will go into that business,” he said then.
While Bank of America treads cautiously, other leading banks appear more eager to experiment.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told analysts this week that the bank is actively exploring the issuance of a Citi-branded stablecoin for cross-border payments.
“This is a good opportunity for us,” she said during Citi’s second quarter earnings call.
Citi’s ambitions add to a growing list of Wall Street institutions circling the stablecoin space. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America had discussed the possibility of jointly launching a dollar-pegged token.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a vocal crypto skeptic, confirmed this week the bank intends to engage with stablecoins, though specifics were scarce. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya said Wednesday the bank continues to closely monitor developments.
Still, observers will have to contend with ongoing regulatory developments directly impacting the sector.
In limbo?
Hopes for clear-cut U.S. crypto legislation stalled this week as the House’s so-called “Crypto Week” unraveled amid Republican infighting. A procedural vote to advance three key crypto bills failed on Tuesday.
The measures included the GENIUS Act, aimed at establishing federal guardrails for stablecoins; the CLARITY Act, designed to provide a broader framework for crypto assets, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which seeks to prevent the U.S. from creating a central bank digital currency.
The House voted 196-223 against moving forward after 13 hardline Republicans rebelled, citing the GENIUS Act’s failure to explicitly prohibit a U.S. CBDC. President Donald Trump intervened, summoning dissenters to the White House and later claiming he had persuaded them to back the bills.
On Wednesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced she would continue opposing the package, arguing it failed to adequately safeguard against government overreach into digital currencies.
By late Wednesday, however, the package appeared to be back on track. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) announced that members of the House Freedom Caucus had reached an agreement to advance the President’s cryptocurrency agenda.
As part of the deal, Harris said, the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would include “strong anti–Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) protections”—a key sticking point for GOP holdouts.
Another procedural vote is expected Thursday.
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