Wall Street’s biggest banks are wasting no time. They’ve smelled opportunity, and it reeks of Bitcoin. With newly-elected president Donald Trump embracing digital assets, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are racing to lock in crypto IPOs, share offerings, and convertible bonds, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Morgan Stanley has started courting crypto companies looking to go public after the bank helped Coinbase sell convertible bonds. The bank has already been working with IREN, a Bitcoin mining and AI data operator, on new monetization strategies since July.
And Bank of America’s investment wing is reportedly having internal discussions on how to push deeper into crypto deal-making, sources say.
Over in Canada, RBC wants to ramp up its crypto business, especially after successfully arranging its first convertible bond deal for a crypto client last year.
Meanwhile, Jefferies Financial Group has been advising Peter Thiel’s Bullish on its IPO plans. The bank is also collaborating with Figure Technologies, a fintech company founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, to prepare for its own public offering. Moelis & Co. and Cantor Fitzgerald have also been working on various deals as they try to quickly carve out their market share, according to the report.
RBC arranged a convertible bond sale last year for crypto miner Core Scientific. Since Trump’s election, RBC has noticed more crypto issuers entering the market, according to its corporate updates. But Bloomberg’s report says RBC will remain selective, not wanting to take unnecessary risks with every crypto company that knocks on their door.
Trump’s pro-crypto administration ends crypto oppression on Wall Street
Since president Trump made his promised crypto executive order, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a dedicated crypto task force, led by Hester Peirce, a long-time Bitcoin advocate.
David Sacks, Trump’s newly appointed crypto czar, has said that the administration is reviewing the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve, which is a major part of Trump’s campaign promise to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Under the previous Biden administration, many firms faced tough scrutiny, with banks even being ordered to pause their crypto-related activities. Now, banks want to make sure they don’t get caught sleeping again.
Major players in the crypto industry like Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, are said to be preparing for an IPO this year. Bullish is also thinking of doing the same, according to the report. Kraken and Circleare also reportedly considering public listings.
