Morgan Stanley hires crypto banker Andrew Peel to head ‘digital asset markets’

Andrew Peel’s
LinkedIn.

LinkedIn

• Morgan Stanley has hired Andrew Peel as head of digital
  asset markets.
• Peel spent 12 years at Credit Suisse and is a
  self-declared “subject matter expert for bitcoin and
  cryptocurrency.”
• Peel’s appointment comes amid a flurry of activity from
  investment banks looking at the crypto space.

LONDON — Morgan Stanley has poached a 12-year veteran of Credit
Suisse to lead “digital asset markets” at the bank.

Andrew Peel joined Morgan Stanley as head of digital asset
markets in June 2018, according to his
LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley confirmed
the appointment to Business Insider but declined to comment
further.

Peel spent 12 years at Credit Suisse, according to his LinkedIn,
most recently serving as a vice president of sales and trading
innovation. In that role, he was a “subject matter expert for
bitcoin and cryptocurrency,” according to his profile.

Peel’s move was first reported by eFinancialCareers. He will
be based between Zurich and London in his new role, according to
his LinkedIn.

It is not clear whether the digital asset markets role is a new
one or what exactly Peel will do in this new position. The bank
declined to comment.

The ICO Journal, a blog covering cryptocurrency markets, said in
April that it was in touch with a source close to
Morgan Stanley who said the bank was rapidly planning to launch a
crypto trading desk. Morgan Stanley analysts also
took a look at the space earlier this year and
the bank already clears bitcoin futures for clients.

Peel’s appointment comes amid a flurry of activity from
investment banks around crypto.
Goldman Sachs is reportedly planning to set up a bitcoin trading
desk and
JPMorgan recently appointed its first head of crypto-asset
strategy. Investment banks are attracted by the eye-catching
returns of bitcoin in 2017 and have begun to seriously assess
cryptos as a potential new asset class despite poor price
performance this year.

Industry insiders stress that key infrastructure such as
institutional-grade digital asset custody solutions must be put
in place before big banks can truly dive into the market.