Speaking at the prestigious World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Moynihan addressed a question that has long lingered over the industry — what would it take for banks to embrace crypto as a payment method?

“If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you’ll find that the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it,” Moynihan remarked during an interview with CNBC.

“If you go down the street here and buy lunch, for example, you could pay with Visa, Mastercard, a debit card, Apple Pay, and so on. In that sense, cryptocurrency would just be another form of payment,” Moynihan explained.

He also discussed a growing realization that crypto — especially stablecoins backed by traditional assets like the U.S. dollar — could seamlessly integrate into existing payment networks.

“If it’s a stablecoin-type of dollar-backed crypto…and our consumers actually want to use it, we think there’s value there,” Moynihan said, hinting that banks could view these tokens as a safer entry point into the crypto payments space.

However, Moynihan did not touch upon the notion of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as an investment or store of value, stating that it is “really a separate question.”

Bank of America’s twofold relationship with crypto

Bank of America has not always been optimistic about crypto. For years, the institution’s top executives voiced strong concerns, often portraying crypto as a challenge to the transparency and security upon which the banking system relies.

Back in 2018, BofA’s Chief Technology Officer, Cathy Bessant, expressed sharp criticism of crypto’s fundamental structure, stating:

“As a payment system, I think it’s troubling because the foundation of the banking system is on the transparency between the sender and the receiver, and cryptocurrency is designed to be nothing of the sort.” 

She labelled crypto as the “antithesis” of transparency, mentioning how its pseudonymous nature made it difficult for authorities to “catch bad guys.”

However, over the years, BofA’s stance has drastically evolved. The bank has invested heavily in blockchain, recognizing its potential to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and modernize financial systems. 

“We have hundreds of patents on blockchain already,” CEO Brian Moynihan remarked recently in Davos.

In 2021, BofA began experimenting with Paxos Settlement Service, a blockchain-powered platform designed to expedite stock settlements. With Paxos, BofA joined global giants like Nomura Holdings and Credit Suisse to address payment inefficiencies, reducing trade settlement times from 48 hours to near-instantaneous processing.

The bank’s interest in crypto itself has also grown. In 2024, BofA’s Merrill Lynch added Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to its brokerage platforms for eligible wealth management clients.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the creation of a crypto task force aimed at establishing a “sensible regulatory path,” which could provide the necessary guidance for banks like BofA to integrate crypto payments into their operations.

How U.S. institutions are stepping into crypto

For years, many of America’s largest financial institutions kept crypto at arm’s length, watching the volatile digital asset market unfold from the sidelines. Concerns about regulatory ambiguity, compliance risks, and the shadow of illicit activities made many hesitant to engage. 

However, as of 2025, a growing number of giants in the financial sector are beginning to embrace crypto in ways that could fundamentally reshape the market.

Take JPMorgan Chase, for example, a bank whose CEO, Jamie Dimon, once famously referred to Bitcoin as a “fraud” and a “pet rock.” 

Today, the bank is not only leveraging blockchain but also pioneering solutions like Kinexys, a platform designed to tokenize real-world assets and enable real-time foreign exchange settlements. 

JPMorgan’s stablecoin, JPM Coin, launched in 2019, has further cemented its role in digital finance. JPM Coin facilitates high-value institutional transactions, processing roughly $1 billion daily as of late 2023.

BlackRock, another major player, has embraced crypto differently. The world’s largest asset manager launched its spot Bitcoin ETF in early 2024, and the fund has since become the largest of its kind, holding 563,000 BTC valued at over $59 billion as of Jan. 22.

The rise of exchange-traded products has further bolstered crypto’s legitimacy. In 2024, the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs brought crypto closer to mainstream investors, and similar products for altcoins like Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) are gaining traction globally. 

According to a recent statement by WisdomTree, an asset manager closely monitoring digital trends, institutions that fail to integrate crypto into their offerings risk being left behind.

Under President Trump, pro-crypto policies have gained traction, with expectations of executive orders aimed at accelerating adoption.

Decoding the probable impact

If regulators give Bank of America and other financial institutions the green light to integrate crypto payments, it could alter how the financial system operates in the U.S.

Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank with $1.6 trillion in assets under management and $52 billion in new flows in 2023, has the scale and resources to lead this transformation.

CEO Moynihan’s statement that the bank is ready to “come in hard on the transactional side” reflects years of preparation, backed by hundreds of blockchain patents and the adoption of infrastructure providers like the Paxos Settlement Service to speed up settlement times.

To grasp the potential impact, it’s important to consider the current size of cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.

According to Coinbase, in 2023, stablecoins processed $10.8 trillion in transactions, with $2.3 trillion coming from organic activities like consumer payments and business transfers — marking a 17% increase from 2022 and positioning stablecoins as credible competitors to traditional payment systems like Visa and Mastercard.

If integrated into banking, crypto could enable consumers to use digital wallets linked to their bank accounts to pay for groceries, utilities, or subscriptions, all without the fees or delays associated with credit cards or ACH transfers.

The effect would be even more pronounced for businesses, particularly in cross-border transactions. 

Today, international transfers are often slow and expensive, with payments taking days to settle. Crypto could change this dynamic, allowing, for instance, a small business owner in Texas to pay a supplier in Singapore within seconds, bypassing currency conversions and intermediary banks.

Such a shift aligns with trends in North America’s crypto activity. According to Chainanalysis, between mid-2023 and mid-2024, $1.3 trillion in on-chain value was recorded, with about 70% of these transactions being high-value transfers exceeding $1 million.

If banks like Bank of America incorporate crypto, they could streamline these operations further, reducing liquidity and counterparty risks while keeping operational costs low for their largest clients.

But the impact doesn’t stop at businesses and large institutions. Crypto payments could help address financial exclusion. The FDIC reports that over 19 million households in the U.S. remain unbanked, often due to high fees, lack of access, or mistrust of traditional banks.

Crypto payments, requiring only a smartphone and internet connection, offer a viable alternative. 

Though there are still hurdles, like regulatory concerns and infrastructure gaps, bringing traditional banking and digital currencies together offers a chance to completely reimagine how financial systems work for both people and businesses.