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| HSBC prohibits customers from purchasing MicroStrategy shares |
A letter published by Reuters states that HSBC has banned clients of its online stock trading platform InvestDirect from purchasing or transferring MicroStrategy shares to their accounts, claiming it is a cryptocurrency product.
A letter from an HSBC InvestDirect client indicated that it would be impractical for banks to purchase, trade or offer products related to virtual currencies.
Michael Saylor is the head of the US enterprise software company (Michael Saylor), and he is a supporter of Bitcoin and has billions of Bitcoins.
As stated in the March 29 letter, HSBC permits the buying, selling, and transfer of MicroStrategy shares, but prohibits new acquisitions or transfers.
"HSBC does not want direct access to virtual currency, but it does hope to offer products or securities that derive their value from virtual currencies that are very limited," HSBC said in a statement.
HSBC InvestDirect is suitable for clients from countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
The bank said: As of 2018, the cryptocurrency policy is still under development and is still under review. It did not immediately specify which countries the ban would apply to.
The move amplifies the use of cryptocurrencies by major financial firms, corporations, and investors looking to tap into a world with ultra-low interest rates.
Goldman Sachs Group said last month that it is providing investments in Bitcoin and other digital assets to clients in the wealth management space, and Morgan Stanley has also begun providing client investments for emerging asset classes.
MicroStrategy, along with Tesla and the payment company Square, is one of several publicly traded companies in the United States that have purchased large amounts of Bitcoin for their vaults.
MicroStrategy said last week: The company owns approximately 91,579 Bitcoins and has approximately $ 5.5 billion in assets, or nearly 80% of its market value of $ 6.8 billion.
In a similar development, MicroStrategy said its unemployed managers get paid for services in bitcoin instead of cash.
MicroStrategy said: Once paid, the board member's fee will be transferred from USD to Bitcoin by the payment processor.