Wall Street financial advisor LionTree explores crypto payments

Wall Street financial advisor that helped Amazon acquire MGM studios this year is exploring crypto payment options.

LionTree, a popular financial advisor and investment banking firm, is looking into cryptocurrencies as a payment option. In its year-end letter, Chairman and CEO Aryeh Bourkoff talks about crypto as a potential tool for empowering individuals and explores some of the biggest trends in crypto, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

“In 2021, crypto made itself impossible to ignore, with a market cap at times surpassing $3 trillion," wrote Bourkoff, adding that this was because people with more cash than usual were looking for a place to guard their money against inflation, find higher returns and ensure higher yields.

Bourkoff also hinted about exploring crypto payment options for its services in the near future. He wrote:

“We’re currently exploring ways to start accepting crypto as payment for our services, and in the not-so-distant future, as our ecosystem grows and our relationships continue to mature, we might even create our own LionTree token of trust.”

Related: Dogecoin is better than Bitcoin for payments, Elon Musk declares

While lauding the achievements and milestones of the crypto market in 2021, Bourkoff also highlighted some of the flaws and hurdles that it needs to overcome. He said that the technology needs to be more energy-efficient, and the focus should be on building more user-friendly interfaces.

LionTree is comparatively a small firm in its size, but it has been involved in some of the most significant media partnerships and acquisitions this year. The firm played a key role in the merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc. The financial advisory group was also a part of Amazon’s acquisition of MGM Studios. LionTree also helped Snap Inc. with its Initial Public Offering.