John Lee, most recently Accenture’s global head of digital assets, will report to the bank’s head of payments and oversee the development of new crypto products, Bloomberg reported. CIBC spokesperson Kathryn Lawler confirmed the hire in an email. (Bloomberg, The Logic)

Talking point: The announcement is the latest in a series of moves that demonstrate Canada’s big banks are getting serious about crypto. Earlier this month, BMO poached Imran Ibrahim from CIBC to lead the bank’s digital assets work. BMO is also experimenting with Google’s private blockchain for the financial sector to issue tokenized versions of cash and bank deposits. Ottawa is encouraging this, announcing in the spring economic update that it will consult with banks about how they might use stablecoins, digital assets pegged to the value of a central bank-issued currency. In a report this month, RBC analyst Darko Mihelic said stablecoins could threaten bank profits by attracting funds away from deposits and offering an alternative for payments that would normally command hefty fees.