BoA Admitting Defeat?
In their annual report filing with the SEC, Bank of America admitted that the emergence of cryptocurrency will be a threat to their business model. They have stated that attempting to remain competitive with the market is going to cause major expenditures on their part. The impact of those expenditures would be felt more than in the past because there are now non-bank companies offering products that were traditionally banking products free of charge, rendering their fee based products undesirable. They also stated that trying to keep up with the evolving crypto payment landscape and trading markets would lead to the expenditure of even more funds just to stay competitive. Does this mean that BoA is admitting there is actually competition coming from cryptocurrency? I believe it does.
A Run for Your Money
For the first time in my adult life it appears that the banks are facing some staunch competition. There has been some attempts in the past to provide consumer services via internet banks that have no physical location, but that has been met with limited acceptance and success compared to cryptocurrency. Crypto is giving people not only an alternative to banks, but also an alternative to fiat currency in general. Why would I park my fiat in a savings account getting less than 1% return a year when I could buy into a Proof of Stake coin and let the same money sit there and accrue crypto at a much faster rate? Obviously there is more risk involved, but it seems that crypto adopters are not as risk averse as previous investors. As I have stated in some of my previous posts, if the banks don't innovative and take a good hard look at their business models then they could end up going the way of Blockbuster. But one thing that I don't think BoA realizes is that they don't have to do it alone.
Perfect Use Case for Ripple, Cardano and Stellar
It is no secret that I am a Ripple/XRP fanboy, but I think that this is a perfect example of how Ripple, Cardano (maybe just in Japan) and Stellar can bridge the gap for the traditional banking industry. In their annual report to the SEC, Bank of America is talking about expenditures for them to start completely from scratch to try and keep up with the cryptocurrency environment, but the fact is, they don't have to start from scratch; they can use Ripple, Cardano or Stellar as a stepping stone to adopting blockchain technology. If other large financial institutions such Santander has begun using the Ripple infrastructure then there has to be some value there.
Conclusion
The banks have been given Carte Blanche for way to long. We in the US have bailed them out with our tax dollars when they made poor decisions and almost destroyed our economic system. I believe that Natural Selection started rearing its head during that time and did cull the weaker out of the banking pool, but now Natural Selection may be coming for the big names that were given a second chance. The only way that Natural Selection can be averted is by evolving. The banks need to show a little humility and use the options they have to innovate and move into the blockchain, otherwise they are doomed. By utilizing the technology of Ripple, Cardano and Stellar they can save money and evolve to stay viable. If they don't then it is because of their own hubris and they deserve what they get.
This opinion piece was based on an article that appeared on Cointelegraph titled "Bank Of America: Our ‘Inability To Adapt’ Could See A Failure To Compete With Crypto"
Check out my other crypto posts:
Attention Haters: Ripple Making Some Big Moves
Telegram on track for a $1 billion ICO?
Here We Go Litecoin!
Big Gains for Ripple on the Horizon
If You Can't Fight 'em, Join 'em: Salon Offers Ads or Bitcoin Mining
XRP (Ripple): The Gateway Crypto
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https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@monetaryrealist/bank-of-america-admits-bitcoin-is-a-threat-to-their-business-model-amen-amen-and-again-amen
I saw this when it first came out. Great to see you found it too
The banks should be finding ways to facilitate not mitigate the growth of the crypto space. That is how they are going to make money, not trying to make it more difficult for people. Only time will tell how this plays out!
Banks should be a place where one can store excess wealth that one has accumulated over time for safe keeping. The problem is BANKS do not do that.They are the distributors of FRNS and the eyes of Big brother making sure all the little 'subjects' stay in line.
Before Dodd-Frank was killed only investment banks could gamble with our money, now any bank can gamble and make money off of our money without cutting us in on the profits. I was told by a bank recently that i could not access money in my account because it hadn’t been in my account long enough. The banks are corrupt. At some point in the future I am hoping to be able minimize my use of banks in general.
Coins mentioned in post:
Release the Kraken! You got a 1.28% upvote from @seakraken courtesy of @stwbll!
I agree it great to see crypt giving the banks a run for their money.
I would like to see crypto be a viable alternative at some point. I like the idea of being my own bank and having my money work for me solely. There is still a ways to go, but I am glad that there is enough traction now to make them squirm and take notice.