Bank of America’s Global Research has begun covering crypto, debuting with a report stating that “digital assets are too large to ignore.” Noting that digital assets are “creating a whole ecosystem of new companies, new opportunities, and new applications,” the bank said, “This is growing, this is mainstream, and it’s not just bitcoin.”

Bank of America announced Monday the launch of its “digital asset research” with the publication of a report titled “Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning.” The bank wrote:

Report finds digital assets are too large to ignore.

The announcement explains that “The primer provides an investment framework for the digital asset landscape.” The topics it covers include smart contract applications, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Bank of America’s crypto research team was formed in July. It is led by Alkesh Shah, the bank’s head of Global Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Strategy. 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.

Candace Browning, head of Bank of America Global Research, commented: “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.” In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Browning explained that the launch was due to “growing institutional interest” and the massive appetite among retail clients. “If you look at the number of corporates mentioning crypto on their earnings calls, that’s gone from about 17 last year to about 147 in the most recent quarter,” she detailed, adding:

This is growing, this is mainstream, and it’s not just bitcoin … this is digital assets and it’s creating a whole ecosystem of new companies, new opportunities, and new applications.

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