UBS is looking into offering bitcoin and other crypto investment to its private wealth clients following a surge in demand.
If UBS follows through, it will be among the top US institutions looking for a way of venturing into the crypto space. The demand for crypto assets has been high recently, causing firms to look for ways to meet this demand.
Risky investment option
UBS is a Swiss firm that offers a wide range of investment options to its clients. The company is looking for several avenues that will help them safely invest in the crypto space. Sources close to the firm indicate that any form of crypto investment offered will only be a portion of the investor’s total portfolio. This is to safeguard investors from the high market volatility experienced in the crypto market.
In a statement, UBS stated: “We are monitoring the developments in the field of digital assets closely. Importantly, we are most interested in the technology which underpins digital assets, namely the distributed ledger technology.”
UBS CEO Ralph Hammers also said that the firm was also looking into enhancing its business models. Such changes would transform the business operations of wealthy investors. The CEO wanted to use AI to expand their product offering and change their models to become tech-savvy.
UBS bitcoin move part of institutional shift into the crypto
Other leading firms in the financial sector are also looking more into crypto services. Goldman Sachs is one of the leading Wall Street firms looking to exploit the crypto space. The bank has now accumulated around $1 trillion in Bitcoin and has also expanded its derivative product offering. Goldman Sachs now offers a derivative that is directly tied to the value of Bitcoin.
Other Wall Street banks that have also ventured into the crypto space include Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Morgan Stanley. Citigroup is also considering launching crypto services.
Bitcoin is still the largest cryptocurrency, and it is the most popular. In recent months, interest in other cryptocurrencies is also picking. Investors are now diversifying their crypto portfolio by including other tokens. However, some skeptics believe that the values of cryptocurrencies might crumble soon.
However, even with the high risk of investing in cryptocurrencies, Wall Street banks are finding it hard to refrain from offering this product. The financial giants believe that failure to offer crypto investment options will make them lose their wealthy investors.
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