Bank of America (BofA) has announced research coverage for digital assets as part of a strategy to accelerate its presence in the increasingly important asset class.
The bank published its first report entitled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning”, which was led by BofA Global Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Strategy head Alkesh Shah.
Digital assets are estimated to have over $2 trillion market value with more than 200 million users.
BofA global research head Candace Browning said: “Digital assets are transforming the way in which markets, businesses and central banks operate.
“Bank of America offers a market-leading global payments platform and blockchain expertise, and the addition of digital asset research further strengthens the depth and breadth of our offerings for investors.”
According to BofA, the primer offers an investment framework for the digital asset landscape, by analysing various elements and facets.
These include tokens that act like operating systems, applications powered by smart contracts, stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, central bank digital currencies that could replace money and non-fungible tokens that connect creators and fans.
Shah said: “Bitcoin is important, but the digital asset ecosystem is so much more. Our research aims to explore the implications across industries including finance, technology, supply chains, social media and gaming.”
Digital assets, including bitcoin, continue to attract the interest of institutional investors.
In February this year, American investment manager BNY Mellon launched a new enterprise Digital Assets unit to speed up the development of enterprise solutions to serve the digital asset space.
Last year, Goldman Sachs appointed Mathew McDermott as its new global head of digital assets as it eyes the development of its own fiat-tied token.
