A lot has changed since I first started covering Bitcoin (BTC) in 2012. A market once relegated to the deepest corners of the internet has now spawned a global revolution that has forced corporations and governments to form an opinion on digital assets. Now, Wall Street is chiming in, with analysts at major banks increasingly convinced that crypto is a maturing asset class with long-term potential. That was the general takeaway of a new report from Wells Fargo’s research division. The report’s bullish undertones are truly remarkable when you consider how big banks treated Bitcoin just a few years ago. …

Wells Fargo Investment Institute, the research division of Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management, has released a report highlighting the potential of cryptocurrencies as an investment opportunity akin to the early days of the internet. In a report today titled Cryptocurrencies — Too early or too late?, the banking giant referred to cryptocurrencies as “viable investments” today, but hinted there was no rush for investors to enter the still maturing market. Wells Fargo’s global investment strategy team said it did not subscribe to the idea that it was “too late to invest” in crypto, given that the space is “relatively …

Wells Fargo has partnered with HSBC to use its blockchain tools for the settlement of bilateral foreign exchange (FX) transactions. Wells Fargo would use the HSBC-developed FX Everywhere platform for interbank FX transactions. Developed by HSBC in 2018, the blockchain settlement platform is primarily used to settle transactions between banks within the HSBC group. The latest partnership would be the first use case outside the HSBC group. The partnership would make way for settlement in U.S. dollar (USD), Canadian dollar (CAD), British pound sterling (GBP) and Euro (EUR) transactions. The official press release said that the platform would expand to …

Decentralized mortgage lender Bacon Protocol officially launched on Tuesday, allowing cryptocurrency investors to participate in the housing market through a new stablecoin that’s backed by USD Coin (USDC) and home loans. In addition to launching its protocol, Bacon announced Tuesday that it is holding a public sale of bHome token, which is described as a Stable+ Coin that’s backed “dollar for dollar” by USDC, liens and loans on properties in the United States. Early participants in the sale will be eligible to receive additional rewards via the BACON governance token. Bacon Protocol works by giving homeowners the ability to exchange …

Major Wall Street bank executives will appear before the United States Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday to discuss the role of their financial institutions in the recovery of the American economy. Democratic lawmakers plan to grill a number of major bank execs, whose firms saw record profits during the COVID-19 pandemic while average Americans struggled to make ends meet. In prepared testimonies posted on Tuesday, CEOs at the Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo described their respective banks' responses to major challenges such as inequality, diversity, climate change, taxes, as well as how their banks handle cryptocurrencies. This year …

Wells Fargo Investment Institute announced that it will soon open an investment product for its wealthy clients, with president Darren Cronk declaring the firm’s stance that the cryptocurrency space has finally come of age. The research division of Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management, which oversees close to $2 trillion in assets, is in the process of evaluating and onboarding its cryptocurrency investment platform for qualified investors. The platform is expected to be launched by around mid-June, after the final stages of the due diligence process. “We think the cryptocurrency space has just kind of hit an evolution and maturation …

The dollar value of Bitcoin (BTC) jumped 20% overnight leading into Tuesday as the world’s most-well-known cryptocurrency recovered swiftly from a 27% decline suffered just days before. The broader cryptocurrency market followed suit on Tuesday, as over $150 billion flooded back into the global market capitalization on the same day. The spot price of Bitcoin jumped from $30,468 to $36,633 in a little over 15 hours leading into Tuesday morning, representing overnight gains of 20.2%. This returned a majority of the losses incurred by the coin over the course of the previous weekend when BTC's price plunged from $41,880 down …

San Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo has released a report identifying Bitcoin as the best performing asset of 2020, while also highlighting the coin’s volatility for investors. In an investment strategy report released yesterday, the banking giant noted that Bitcoin (BTC) is up 170% this year and outperformed both gold and the S&P 500 Index. However, Wells Fargo seemingly understated the role cryptocurrencies are currently playing in the financial market, saying “they attract lots of attention, but not necessarily lots of investment money.” “Cryptocurrency investing today is a bit like living in the early days of the 1850’s gold rush, which …

Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway substantially cut their position on Wells Fargo, selling 100 million shares. The Oracle of Omaha is continuing to trim his position in bank stocks, buoying the bull case for gold and Bitcoin (BTC). Berkshire reportedly held $32 billion in equity in Wells Fargo at one point, Fox Business reported on Sep. 5. The investment conglomerate now owns 3.3% in equity of the lender, worth just $3.36 billion. Why did Buffett cut Wells Fargo and how could it benefit Bitcoin? Throughout his career, Buffett emphasized the importance of value investing and cash flow. The investor typically …

Q3 Investment Recovery Vehicle (Q3IRV), an entity representing the more than 100 victims of the alleged $35 million Q3 Ponzi scheme, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Advisors. The suit accuses Wells Fargo of failing to inquire into the activities of an employee accused of co-masterminding the scam. The plaintiffs assert that the Wells Fargo subsidiary failed to make appropriate inquiries into its financial advisor James Seijas — as per the firm’s policy mandating employees to regularly report activities relating to outside interests. Crypto Ponzi victims sue Wells Fargo for vicarious liability Q3IRV is seeking damages and interest …

Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, the venture arm of the fourth-largest bank in the U.S., is contributing $5 million to Elliptic’s Series B funding round. According to a Feb. 13 press release, the investment will help the company build products for large financial institutions. The latest investment brings Elliptic’s Series B raise to more than $28 million. Previous investors include Japan’s SBI Group and Santander InnoVentures, an investment branch of the Spanish bank. The additional resources will be used to fuel Elliptic’s expansion in Asia. Additionally, the company hopes to accelerate development of Elliptic Discovery, a compliance solution for banks. The …

Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo announced during a Dec. 30 CNBC news segment that “this is the golden decade of banks and technology.” Mayo explained that while the 1990’s had record bank consolidation (banking businesses merge with each other), systems were never integrated. He then explains that in the “aughts” decade – the 2000s – banks saw excessive growth, which unfortunately ended in “tears” due to the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Mayo pointed out that the financial crisis was cleaned up this decade, twenty-five years after national banking first permitted banks to leverage their scale and growth. He noted that …