Vikram Pandit Thinks Banks Will Start Trading Crypto Soon

Vikram Pandit, the former CEO of Citigroup Inc. and co-founder of Orogen Group, has declared that banks and traditional financial institutions will soon start thinking of offering cryptocurrencies.

According to a Monday report by Bloomberg, Pandit aired his view on the future of cryptocurrencies today in an interview at a Singapore Fintech Festival.

Vikram Pandit noted that in a few years to come large banks and other financial institutions will start offering crypto services directly to their customers.

He said:

In “one to three years, every large bank and, or securities firm is going to actively think about ‘shouldn’t I also be trading and selling cryptocurrency assets?”

Vikram Pandit is a popular investor and a long-time admirer of cryptocurrencies, he has previously largely invested in one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase.

The investor noted in the interview that he expects the introduction of digital assets to be an upgrade to the paper-based banking system to make the exchange process more suitable.

It is Already Happening

Meanwhile, banks and other financial institutions are already taking steps and seeking ways to enter the crypto industry.

As per a recent report, banks are now paying a 50% premium to employ crypto talents. The banks are making this move because they risk losing their customers to other banks or financial institutions that offer these crypto services.

According to data collected by Revelio Labs, a workforce intelligence company, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and Morgan Stanley are among the companies hiring these crypto talents.

Coinposters reported last week that Australia’s Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is set to become the first banking institution in the country to offer crypto services to its clients.

The bank noted that it will allow its customers the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets, directly via the CommBank app.

With the country’s financial watchdog looking into the regulatory implications of the bank’s move, CBA has said it would welcome clear regulatory guidelines for crypto assets.

However, while these traditional financial systems are offering clients exposure to crypto assets, none of them has decided to trade crypto directly to their clients, and that is about to change soon, according to Pandit.

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