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HSBC has banned its customers from buying additional shares of MicroStrategy. HSBC is viewing MicroStrategy’s shares as purchasing virtual currencies.
HSBC, a prominent British investment bank, has prevented its customers from buying shares into MicroStrategy. MicroStrategy is a business intelligence firm that currently holds more than 91000 Bitcoin. In an image that was trending on Twitter, HBSC will not permit their customers to buy new shares into MicroStrategy. However, customers who had already purchased shares will be allowed to hold or sell them.
…then they fight you. HSBC is not only banning the purchase of #Bitcoin but also new purchases of MicroStrategy $MSTR. pic.twitter.com/Yt6c2xbXad
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) April 9, 2021
MicroStrategy shares are a ‘Virtual Currency’
In the statement that HSBC had given to its customers, the move has been made according to the bank’s policy regarding virtual currencies. Customers on HSBC InvestDirect (HIDC) are barred from participating in the trade for virtual currencies and products related to the performance of these currencies. . To this end, the HIDC is categorizing MicroStrategy’s shares as a form of virtual currency.
Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s founder, became the firm leader to lead a company into making direct purchases into Bitcoin. In August 2021, MicroStrategy purchased its first Bitcoin. On April 5, 2021, MicroStrategy added its Bitcoin holdings by making an additional purchase for Bitcoin worth $15 Million. Currently, this company holds 91579 Bitcoin, which is worth billions of dollars.
The price of Bitcoin has been skyrocketing because of its increased usage and acceptance by financial institutions. Some Wall Street banks have given into the pressure and started diversifying into more crypto trading options. However, HSBC remains shy towards venturing into this sector. The bank’s firm stand against the trade of cryptocurrencies remains strong as ever. Earlier on, the firm had also barred customers from transferring profits accrued from trading Bitcoin into their accounts with the bank.
Recently, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Borse expanded their offerings into the crypto market. They introduced crypto investment options for their private wealth clients. Besides, major companies such as PayPal and Tesla recently allowed their consumers to use Bitcoin to make purchases. HSBC’s rigidness on not accepting Bitcoin remains skeptical since the bank continues to offer shares in companies that hold vast amounts of Bitcoin, such as Tesla, Square, and Hut 8 Mining.
Even with this current ban by HIDC, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the crypto market. With a market cap of over $2 trillion, this market is gaining ground, and financial service providers may be forced to expand their services into crypto trading.