This year $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ The surge is astonishing, with a trading frenzy related to Bitcoin sweeping Wall Street, and the large investment banks that once scoffed have completely reversed their attitude.

On the weekend, Craig Coben, the former head of Private Equity at Bank of America, pointed out in a column in the Financial Times that there has been a significant shift in Wall Street investment banks' attitude towards Cryptos. Large Banks, which once treated Cryptos with caution, are now actively participating, reflecting a profound change in the financial industry's view on Cryptos.

Coben listed relevant trades from this year, noting that as the scale of crypto trading expands, the list of banks participating in underwriting continues to grow:

Barclays and Citibank have frequently invested in Bitcoin companies this year.$MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$Leading the issuance of convertible Bonds, Goldman Sachs serves as the operator of the datacenter for Bitcoin miners.$Applied Digital (APLD.US)$Raising funds, JPMorgan is for the Bitcoin mining and infrastructure group.$Core Scientific (CORZ.US)$、 $MARA Holdings (MARA.US)$ and $IREN Ltd (IREN.US)$ Underwrote a large number of convertible Bonds......

From avoiding it to flocking to it, Wall Street has gradually abandoned its initial insistence, and Coben noted that the winds have changed:

JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon once referred to Bitcoin as a "fraud" and a "Ponzi scheme," with regulatory concerns deepening this coldness, leading to Crypto trading becoming the business of smaller investment banks.

In January 2024, the SEC approved Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF), marking a watershed moment.

Additionally, Trump's potential re-election as president suggests that the SEC will adopt a more favorable cryptocurrency policy, contrasting sharply with the current chairman Gary Gensler's skeptical attitude.

More importantly, income is at stake; concerns about reputation seem less significant compared to the potential for huge revenues. Coben noted that trading fees in the Bitcoin market are now quite considerable:

According to IFR data, more than $13 billion in convertible bonds related to cryptocurrencies have been issued in 2024, most of which concentrated in the recent quarter, indicating at least $0.2 billion in underwriting fee income. MicroStrategy's $21 billion stock issuance paid a 2% fee to underwriting banks, making this potential income a luxury when it comes to maintaining reputation.

However, banks face a core issue when deciding whether to fully commit to the cryptocurrency Business: can safety be ensured through strict legal scrutiny and full disclosure of risk factors in the prospectus? Or, is the risk of associating with an industry many see as highly speculative too great?

Coben's analysis suggests that once a few banks break the mold, others will quickly follow suit; after all, no banker wants to explain to their boss why expectations were not met or why they dropped in rankings.

This depends on the risk tolerance and strategic outlook of each Bank, different types of Cryptos-related companies may have different risk characteristics. For example, $Coinbase (COIN.US)$well-established Exchanges like may have different risk profiles compared to Bitcoin miners or investment tools like MicroStrategy.

Once a few banks break the norm, others will face pressure to follow suit. Collective action is safer; if problems arise, no single bank becomes the target. Competitive instincts also play a significant role; after all, no banker wants to explain to their boss why expectations were not met or why they dropped in rankings.

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Editor/rice