American Express Sees Crypto as Asset Class — Says It's Not a Near-Term Business Threat

American Express (Amex) sees cryptocurrency as an asset class, according to CEO Steve Squeri. He added that right now, the firm does not see crypto as an immediate or medium-term threat to its business.

American Express CEO Discusses Crypto Strategy

The chairman and CEO of American Express (Amex), Steve Squeri, answered some questions regarding cryptocurrency during the company’s Q4 earnings call Tuesday.

Squeri said: “As far as cryptocurrency goes, we watch cryptocurrencies … We think about the spectrum of digital currencies. We think about crypto. We think about stablecoins. We think about central bank digital currency [CBDC].” The CEO continued:

At this particular point in time, we view cryptocurrency more as an asset class.

Regarding crypto’s use as currency for payments, he said, “that’s a hard thing to utilize that way.”

The American Express executive further noted: “And as far as blockchain, we’ve got investments in blockchain companies … We constantly look at blockchain and figure out ‘are there use cases for us?’”

Commenting on stablecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Squeri said: “As far as stablecoins and NFTs and things like that, we’re partnering with, obviously, the NBA and Top Shot. And we’ll look at ways to get involved.”

However, the CEO revealed, “We’re probably not going to offer a crypto card.”

He further opined:

We keep our eye on cryptocurrency in case it becomes more stable. But right now, I don’t see it as [an] immediate or medium-term threat to our business.