Various sources confirm that the banking giant has shut down its crypto-operation desk after only months of inauguration. Their head of energy trading Chris Tyrer departed from the company following the management’s decision on closing the crypto-project.
In early 2018 Barclays had shown a keen interest in crypto-currency and hired specialists of the trade, notably Tyrer, to help them understand the feasibility of the market. However, it paused the crypto-project in September which raised many questions.
Tyrer was leading the project of discovering the credibility and the company’s benefits in integrating digital assets along with its other investment business. Following Tyrer, the head of emerging markets also took on the job as Matthieu Jobbe and Lee Braine completed the team.
This team was also bombarded with the objectives of finding the long-term applications and its credibility to attract investors. They were also made responsible for checking the system’s compatibility to see if and what updates were needed to accommodate for its implementation.
The CEO earlier the year stated the risk of investing in crypto-currency as it might be used for less than legal activities.
While the company’s backtracking has comforted many competitors, it also raised controversies as to why the Bank chose to do so. Some believe it was because of Tyrer and others’ resignation while others think that the possibility of crypto-currency being used in illegal transactions is what tipped Barclays off.
Many banks are looking forward to such exposing opportunities to invest in this volatile yet fruitfully productive industry.
