In a very surprising move, HSBC, the seventh largest banking institution in the world, has decided to start educating its investors about crypto assets.
The move was made by the HSBC branch of Malaysia, known as HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad. According to the reports, a newsletter was sent to investors. The document outlined some Bitcoin, blockchain and crypto contents. You can see a picture of the newsletter here.
Some of the data presented in the newsletter were originally gathered by CNBC on how the crypto and Bitcoin market was doing. It also explained some of the terminology used in the industry.
While the document was pretty basic, the move made by HSBC simply cannot be ignored as it takes the legitimacy of Bitcoin and the other cryptos to the next level.
Many Reddit users such as Binarygold talked about the event. Binarygold affirmed that “times have changed” and that this would not happen a few years ago. If a company talked about Bitcoin, it would certainly be to tell its investors that it was a scam or something like that. Now, however, the seventh largest bank in the world is promoting Bitcoin, which is pretty great.
A Stark Contrast With Some Banks
Unfortunately, not all banks have followed the same route as HSBC is doing now. Central banks, for instance, have been very negative about cryptos. Last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for instance, has voted in favor of banning local banks from interacting with crypto exchanges.
The RBI was not the sole bank to follow this route, as the Qatar Central Bank also affirmed that BTC trading was not really welcome in the country.
Some commercial banks have a mixed attitude, too. JPMorgan Chase, for instance, currently the largest bank in the United States, has announced its own “not really a cryptocurrency, but somewhat similar” token, JPM Coin. However, the CEO of the bank, Jamie Dimon, is very against Bitcoin and the crypto market.
This means that while some institutions are making an important move forward in order to get the best results, there are the ones which are not really that helpful. A lot of work still has to be done before all banks can perceive the benefits of crypto.
Read More : By Gabriel Machado, HSBC Sends Outs Newsletter Educating Customers on Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies