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- MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor has hinted that several banks have contacted him for a possible Bitcoin collaboration.
- Saylor has also posted a fresh picture of himself standing in a high-rise office, asking his followers to guess the bank.
Speculation has intensified as Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy announces an important meeting with a tier-1 bank on Bitcoin collaboration.
It all began at the Bitcoin (BTC) MENA event in Abu Dhabi this week when Saylor disclosed that he has been approached by the likes of JPMorgan, Citi, Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon, Bank of America, and Charles Schwab. However, no details were given, creating room for guesswork.
Before the dust could settle, Saylor posted a picture of himself standing in a high-rise office, telling his followers to guess the bank. Some users believe the photo was taken from Deutsche Bank. However, others also think it was taken from JPMorgan.
US Banks Making Move on Bitcoin
Earlier, Saylor disclosed that some of these US banks are beginning to issue credit against either Bitcoin or Bitcoin derivatives. JPMorgan, led by popular Bitcoin skeptic Jamie Dimon, has reportedly filed a structured note leveraged product with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This was done through BlackRock’s IBIT against Bitcoin and could yield about 1.5X gains by 2028.
Some banks are also reported to offer loans secured by Bitcoin. Thanks to this, crypto loans reached $150 billion as of the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2024).
Commenting on the rising interest in digital assets by US banks, credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has disclosed that there could be a potential increase in product offerings. Additionally, it could boost fees, yield, and efficiency. On the other side, this could also increase reputational, liquidity, operational, and compliance risks.
Fitch Ratings has also noted that some legislation in the pipeline could significantly expand the stablecoin industry, which is valued at $265 billion. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, this market could be valued at $2 trillion in the future.
Apart from these, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced that banks can now operate as middlemen for crypto deals, as noted in our earlier post. Technically, this means banks can engage in “riskless principal” transactions involving crypto assets without receiving scrutiny from regulators.
In March, the OCC issued a letter to rescind certain agency decisions to create easier banking access for crypto firms. As mentioned in our previous coverage, certain stablecoins were made permissible for national banks and federal savings associations.
