Investors Are Interested in Crypto Despite Bear Market: BNY Mellon Exec 

Michael Demissie, the head of digital assets at Wall Street powerhouse Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), has disclosed that investors are still very interested in the digital asset space amid the bear market.

According to a Reuters report, Demissie believes cryptocurrencies are here to stay as investors have not lost interest in the nascent industry, despite the collapse of several firms and other unfavorable events that occurred last year.

Demissie: Digital Assets are Here to Stay

The BNY Mellon executive voiced his opinion during a crypto panel hosted at Afore Consulting’s seventh Annual FinTech and Regulation Conference.

“What we see is clients are absolutely interested in digital assets, broadly,” Demissie said.

To substantiate his point, Demissie cited a survey conducted by the bank in October. The report, dubbed “Migration To Digital Assets Accelerates,” revealed that institutional interest and investor demand for crypto assets were rising.

Out of the 271 institutional investors surveyed, 91% said they were interested in investing in tokenized products as such would revolutionize asset management and be good for the industry.

Furthermore, 88% of the respondents said they were comfortable with the digital representation of cash through blockchain-based technology, and 86% of the bank’s clients said they were using the “buy and hold” strategy, suggesting that they viewed cryptocurrencies as long-term assets.

Crypto Industry Needs Deeper Regulation

Notably, 69% of investors disclosed that their chances of getting involved with crypto would be increased if highly rated institutions offered digital asset services. To this end, Demissie urged U.S. authorities to ensure regulatory clarity so the industry could move forward.

“It’s important that we navigate this space in a responsible way. We absolutely need clear regulations and rules for the road. We need responsible actors who can offer reliable services that live up to investors’ trust,” he stated.

Meanwhile, BNY Mellon recently appointed Caroline Butler as its CEO of Digital Assets to help accelerate the bank’s crypto initiatives. This comes after the financial giant unveiled its crypto custody platform in October. As CryptoPotato reported, the move made BNY Mellon the first American bank to allow customers to deposit their crypto holdings.