Banking Giant Barclays Mulls Crypto Payments Push: Bloomberg

Publicly traded banking institution Barclays (BCS) is reportedly gathering information for a potential push into blockchain, according to a Friday report from Bloomberg. 

Sources familiar with the matter said the firm has requested information from “technology suppliers” while it considers a path forward. Its utilization of blockchain may include tokenized deposits and stablecoins, the report said.

The U.K.-based banking institution appears to be warming to crypto, investing in stablecoin settlement startup Ubyx after being named as one of a number of leading international banks exploring the joint issuance of a stablecoin last fall. 

“Specialist technology will play a pivotal role in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to enable regulated financial institutions to interact seamlessly,” Barclays Head of Digital Assets Ryan Hayward said at the time of the Ubyx investment. 

Now the firm is further investigating those technologies and could ultimately decide on a provider by April, according to Bloomberg. 

If the firm ultimately decides to offer tokenized deposits or experiment with stablecoins, it would join a list of major banking institutions that have already entered the crypto space. 

Last year, JPMorgan launched its tokenized deposit token—JPMD—to the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum scaling network, Base, letting institutional clients make payments using a digital representation of their JPMorgan deposits. The firm expanded the token to the Canton Network earlier this year. 

That decision followed a report that JPMorgan was working on a framework to allow its clients to use Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for loans. Plus, publicly traded US Bank began testing its own stablecoin on the Stellar Network, while Citi and Bank of America have registered their own interest as well. 

Barclays’ potential involvement in the space has not made a splash with shareholders on Friday, as shares in the firm are trading down nearly 4% as the broader market slides. Nevertheless, shares have risen around 54% in the last year of trading.