Noel Quinn: «We Are Not Into Bitcoin»
HSBC group chief executive Noel Quinn is the latest to join the chorus of Bitcoin skeptics, underlining that the British lender has no plans to launch a crypto offering.
Although an increasing number of global banks are mulling or have launched their own crypto offering, such as DBS, UBS or Goldman Sachs, HSBC remains in the camp of skeptics.
«Given the volatility, we are not into Bitcoin as an asset class,» said HSBC’s Noel Quinn in an interview with «Reuters».
«[I]f our clients want to be there then of course they are, but we are not promoting it as an asset class within our wealth management business.»
Crypto Risks
«I view Bitcoin as more of an asset class than a payments vehicle, with very difficult questions about how to value it on the balance sheet of clients because it is so volatile,» Quinn said.
Price volatility aside, he also noted other issues such as the difficulty of assessing ownership and convertibility into fiat money.
Stablecoins Too
Quinn also noted that his concerns about Bitcoin were also replicated for other cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins – digital currencies that seek to avoid volatility by pegging their value to more stable assets like the U.S. dollar.
And this applies even for stablecoins that claim to be backed by reserves.
«For similar reasons, we're not rushing into stablecoins,» Quinn explained. «Then you get to stablecoins which do have some reserve backing behind them to address the stored value concerns, but it depends on who the sponsoring organization is plus the structure and accessibility of the reserve.»
CBDC Bull
In contrast, Quinn was much more positive on the prospects of central bank digital currencies with ongoing conversations about related initiatives with governments including those in Britain, China, Canada and the UAE.
«CBDCs can facilitate international transactions in e-wallets more simply, they take out friction costs and they are likely to operate in a transparent manner and have strong attributes of stored value,» he said.
Quinn’s comments coincide with the recent flurry of skepticism and negative headlines on Bitcoin including Elon Musk’s reversal of Tesla’s decision to accept Bitcoin payments over energy consumption worries and China’s latest crackdown on crypto mining and trading.
