Wall Street firms seem to be retreating from the cryptocurrency market. According to a recent report released by Bloomberg, as the market falls and experiences regulatory issues, Wall Street remains far from it. Although in the past it seemed that several companies were ready to enter the market, things have changed in the last few months.
Wall Street Retreats
During 2018 virtual currencies lost around 80% or more of their value. The most valuable cryptocurrencies were not able to sustain their prices amid this bear market. At the same time, the regulatory environment is becoming more confusing as time passes. Although there are some intentions of improving it, the lack of clear regulations is harming the space.
When digital assets were growing and reaching their all-time highs, several companies from Wall Street paid close attention to the market. Some of them such as Nasdaq announced that they were going to launch crypto products or services related to the industry. Other firms that showed interest were Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments or Barclays.
Goldman Sachs, for example, was trying to launch Bitcoin futures to the market. There were rumours on the internet explaining that they were developing also a crypto trading desk. Furthermore, the firm signed a partnership with Galaxy Digital and it led a $57 million series B investment in BitGo. Nevertheless, there is no clear information about the products or services that it was planning to launch.
A short time ago, we wrote at UseTheBitcoin that some reports indicated that Goldman Sachs began signing up some customers for its Bitcoin trading product. This information was provided by a source with knowledge on the matter.
Citigroup is another company that seems to be in standby regarding crypto investment plans. The company has reportedly been working in a cryptocurrency product to help asset management firms and other investors reduce their risk when investing in digital assets. The product was going to be named Digital Asset Receipt.
Barclays, one of the most recognized British banking institutions has also hinted that it could start to enter the crypto market. The company hired some traders to lead the digital assets division. The main intention was to understand how to better enter the crypto space. The firm has also denied rumours about releasing crypto services and products.
In 2019, regulatory agencies will play an important role in shaping the regulations the market needs. We have seen how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been controlling Initial Coin offerings (ICOs) during the last months of this year. In Japan or Malta, the regulatory framework is much clearer than before. Companies are settling their operations in these jurisdictions trying to improve their presence in the space.
Now, Bitcoin is being traded close to $3,900 after being traded above $4,300 a few days ago.