Bank of America, which has historically taken a backseat in the crypto industry, is prepared to launch its own dollar-backed stablecoin if U.S. lawmakers approve legislation allowing it to do so, its CEO said Tuesday.
“If they make that legal, we will go into that business,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview with David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
Moynihan said that he believes there will certainly be a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, arguing that given these digital assets function just like money market funds or bank accounts. This is dependent on Congress passing legislation; lawmakers and White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks have suggested legislation may move within President Donald Trump’s first 100 days.
“It’s pretty clear there’s going to be a stablecoin, which is going to be fully dollar-backed, […] so you’ll have a Bank of America coin and a U.S. Dollar deposit and we’ll be able to move them back and forth because now it hasn’t been legal for us to do it but it’s just like another foreign currency,” he said.
Compared to firms like J.P. Morgan and Citigroup, Bank of America has been cautious in its crypto involvement. But shifting regulations may force its hand.
The Trump Administration has made it clear that it will support any efforts in the crypto space in part by providing clearer regulatory guidelines, likely increasing competition among Wall Street banks in the sector. Charles Schwab, another bank that had previously held back, recently hired a head of digital assets as it explores opportunities in the space.
The stablecoin economy has received support from both Democrats and Republicans, making the establishment of laws for these types of digital assets simpler than for other areas in crypto. To move things along, a group of lawmakers earlier this month promised that Congress would pass legislation on stablecoins within the first 100 days of Trump being in office.
While Democrats have expressed concerns about the use of stablecoins for illicit activities, Republicans have full control of Congress, making it likely that it will pass a friendly approach to the digital asset, though any final bill will likely need some sort of bipartisan support.
The sector is already a major force in payments. Stablecoins facilitated over $33 trillion in transaction volume over the past year, outpacing Visa and Mastercard combined, according to data from Visa.