Morgan Stanley, one of the United States top banks, is launching a new cryptocurrency research group, this move hopes to help the bank dives deeper into crypto.
Bloomberg reported on Sept. 13 that the Wall Street megabank has named Sheena Shah as the lead cryptocurrency analyst for its dedicated cryptocurrency research team.
For more than eight years, Shah served as Morgan Stanley’s top currency strategist, covering G10 currencies and contributing to the bank’s crypto-related research initiatives.
Shah will apparently analyze the impact of cryptocurrencies on equities and fixed-income investments such as treasury and corporate bonds in his new post.
Morgan Stanley officials announced the announcement in an email to employees, emphasizing that the creation of a dedicated crypto research team is “in acknowledgement of the growing relevance of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in global markets.”
Morgan Stanley has been pushing into digital assets over the last year, steadily increasing its direct exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through various Grayscale Investments funds, as previously reported. Morgan Stanley is said to have launched a Bitcoin investment tool for billionaire clients in March.
The announcement comes as the traditional finance industry continues to dive into crypto amid the cryptocurrency market’s meteoric rise.
Over the last year, the entire market value of all cryptocurrencies has increased by more than a trillion dollars, rising from roughly $350 billion to $2.1 trillion at the time of writing.
Banks throughout the United States have been hurrying to set up crypto-related departments in recent months, with Bank of America launching a crypto research section in July.
State Street, the country’s second-oldest bank, had earlier announced the creation of a specialized digital finance section. This year, Wall Street behemoths like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs Group launched cryptocurrency trading services.
