The American investment bank LionTree is considering accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, as well as issuing its own token in the future. This was stated by the organisation’s chief executive Arye Burkov in a year-end letter.
“We have come a long way since the first discussion about digital currency in 2012, when we gave each employee one bitcoin as part of a brainstorming session. We will continue to experiment with what lies ahead,” he wrote.
Burkov described cryptocurrencies as a potential tool to empower people. He also stressed that the digital-asset industry has become “a lifeline for a generation shut out of the traditional financial system.”
According to the head of LionTree, in 2021 cryptocurrencies “became impossible to ignore” as the market capitalisation of this sector surpassed $3 trillion. The executive linked the sector’s rapid growth to investors’ attempts to hedge against inflation, as well as to seek and secure higher returns.
He also noted challenges that the industry still has to address. In particular, Burkov highlighted the low energy efficiency of blockchain and the cumbersome user interfaces of cryptocurrency products.
Earlier in November, the financial conglomerate Citigroup announced the launch of cryptocurrency-oriented division within its institutional client services group.
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