Banks Interested In Bitcoin But Face Regulatory Hurdles, Says Cantor Fitzgerald CEO

According to CoinDesk, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick has stated that traditional financial companies are eager to engage in bitcoin transactions as a new asset class but are hindered by current U.S. regulatory requirements. Lutnick highlighted that the regulatory environment is the primary reason banks do not hold bitcoin, as they would need to set aside an equivalent amount of their own money, effectively putting it 'in jail.' He emphasized that a favorable regulatory environment would lead to a significant increase in traditional financial companies investing in bitcoin. Lutnick made these remarks in a post on X, noting that bitcoin is currently an 'outsider to the TradFi community' and is only beginning to integrate into global finance. He reiterated that if regulatory conditions were more accommodating, traditional financial institutions would fully embrace bitcoin. Cantor Fitzgerald, which announced plans to open a bitcoin financing business in June, owns a substantial amount of bitcoin. The firm plans to launch its bitcoin financing business with $2 billion in lending, providing leverage to BTC holders. Additionally, Cantor Fitzgerald already manages U.S. Treasury trading with stablecoin issuer Tether.