Share this article

Bain & Co: Banks Risk Missing Out on Digital Currency

Updated Sep 11, 2021, 12:23 p.m. Published Jul 21, 2016, 12:19 p.m.

Consulting firm Bain & Company believes banks are at risk of missing out on the adoption of digital currencies – and the revenue that might come with it.

The Boston-based firm has published research that argues financial firms are effectively holding themselves back amid an environment of regulatory and technological uncertainty.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

The consultancy's report specifically targets international payments, stating most banks are "not prepared" to retain control of this service.

That said, Bain indicated that it believes at least some banks will successfully capitalize on the technology.

Bain & Co partner and report co-author David Gunn said:

"Despite hesitancy among many banks, we see evidence that companies are finding ways to overcome technical and adoption hurdles to avoid getting left behind."

For more details, read the full report here.

More For You

KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

Bitcoin hash rate slides during U.S. winter storm while markets shrug off mining disruption

(Zac Durant/Unsplash)

The temporary loss of mining power underscores academic concerns that geographic and pool concentration can magnify infrastructure failures, though markets showed little immediate reaction.

What to know:

  • Bitcoin’s hashrate fell about 10 percent during a U.S. winter storm, underscoring how local power disruptions can strain the network’s capacity to process transactions.
  • Researchers have shown that concentrated mining, as seen in a 2021 regional outage in China, can lead to slower block times, higher fees and broader market disruptions.
  • With a few large pools now controlling most of Bitcoin’s hashrate, the network is increasingly vulnerable to localized infrastructure failures, even as the price of BTC remains largely unaffected in the short term.