Barclays Might Invest In Bitcoin In The Future, Says CIO Will Hobbs

British multinational investment bank Barclays is having none of the current Bitcoin euphorias but may invest in it in the future, according to Will Hobbs, head of investments in Barclays’ asset management arm. 

“We’ll wait on the sidelines and see what other investors are doing,” said Hobbs in a recent Business Insider interview, perhaps implying that the British investment bank might consider following other investor’s footsteps and invest in Bitcoin in the future.

While the Bank might consider Bitcoin in the future, presently, it has no interest in the world’s leading digital currency, not even with the significant price surge the cryptocurrency is experiencing.

The present stand against the cryptocurrency attributes to the volatility of Bitcoin, even more than emerging market equities. Besides, before Barclays adds any investment to its portfolio, it will undergo some levels of scrutinization. These levels, Hobbs revealed, saying,

“To add an investment to our portfolio, a number of conditions must be met. First, the expected return of a financial instrument must be positive. In addition, it must be interesting from a diversification point of view.”

Regarding whether Bitcoin could mature to such a position, he said, “it may well be that bitcoin will meet both conditions over time. But at the moment it is difficult to say which way things are going.”

Will Hobbs also stated that investors are swooping in to the cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation. He mentioned that we live in an economy or environment with “ultra-low interest rates and cheap borrowing,” leading to the influx of both retail and professional investors into Bitcoin.

Another bank that has shown even greater interest in Bitcoin than Barclays is the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY Mellon). In a recent report, the largest custodian bank in the world revealed its plans of launching a new digital custody platform to allow clients to conduct transactions using digital currencies later this year.

Only time will tell if Barclays follows in the footsteps of the first large Custodian bank in the US to openly create services for digital currency holders on their platform and invest in Bitcoin.