Analysis
Lost or misplaced private keys, after all, are a bane of the crypto world â just recall the Welshman who lost 7,500 Bitcoin (BTC), worth about $400 million today, when he landfilled his PCâs hard drive, forgetting it was the sole repository of his private key. Meanwhile, traditional banks are societyâs safekeepers par excellence
, so maybe they can improve the crypto user experience with regard to private keys at the very least.
But if major financial institutions are indeed getting involved with cryptocurrencies â and not just in the custody area, as investment bank Morgan Stanley signaled on Feb. 13 a future investment in Bitcoin â why now? Is it just the soaring price of Bitcoin? Or has the evolving blockchain/cryptocurrency industry reached a new level where itâs acceptable even to habitually cautious depository institutions?