Marking contrast with its Wall Street peers, Goldman Sachs is becoming the world's largest institution adopting bitcoin (BTC), and will soon negotiate with decentralized digital assets.
Goldman will negotiate Bitcoin 'Futures'
According to a New York Times report of May 2, 2018, the financial center is ready to start its bitcoin trading desk in the second quarter of 2018, using its own money to negotiate bitcoin contracts, which correlate with the price of bitcoin
The measure marks a big step in the right direction, since the participation of a large-scale institution is aimed at generating confidence and interest in the cryptocurrency sector.
The bank would not negotiate "real" bitcoins, but would negotiate with bitcoin "contracts" offered by markets such as CBOE and BitMex. The reports confirm that Goldman has appointed a team of legal experts to explore regulatory limitations and opportunities related to the possession, negotiation and negotiation of digital assets.
However, the bank does not share similar and highly optimistic sentiments as cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and does not consider cryptocurrency as a "threat" to traditional finance.
According to Rana Yared, a Goldman executive:
"I would not describe myself as a true believer who wakes up thinking that Bitcoin will dominate the world. For almost everyone involved, there has been personal skepticism on the table. "
Bitcoin Hater Turned Believer
Even so, the measure represents a 180 degree turn against the negative sentiments that Goldman, along with other Wall Street institutions, have expressed over the years: that bitcoin is "drug money" and is destined to fail . In fact, it is surprising that after a few years of disbelief and rising prices, the institution suddenly shows interest in the controversial asset class.
At the beginning of 2017, there were several reports from institutions such as Bank of America and JPMorgan that covered the blocking of customer accounts that they suspected were being used to deal with cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, the interest shown by several Wall Street investors and banks in bitcoin goes against their "decentralization" spirit, which once wished to dethrone banks from the seat of power in which they find themselves. The purpose is defeated abjectly when banks invest in cryptocurrencies. , presumably, without interest or comments about the underlying blockchain technology.
Jamie Dimon, the executive director of JPMorgan Chase, famous for calling bitcoin a "fraud", and discussed its characteristics, which "were nothing more than a speculative bubble".
Fortunately, Yared does not share the same sentiment and states that Goldman has several interested customers who want to invest in digital assets.
She added:
"It resonates with us when a client says: 'I want to keep Bitcoin or Bitcoin futures because I think it's an alternative reserve of value.'"
Interested groups include hedge funds, bitcoin millionaires and investors seeking "high risk, high reward" exchanges.
A small step for man (gold), a giant leap for Bit'kind '
The decision to negotiate bitcoin contracts contains numerous points that Goldman should address, including the notorious manipulation of prices in exchanges, over which regulatory action remains scarce.
Earlier, Criptoinforme reported that Goldman hired Justin Schmidt, 38, who will lead the bitcoin trading division and reportedly has experience in trading cryptocurrencies on a personal level.
Despite the various difficulties and uncertainties, Goldman's decision is confirmed, and the world will soon witness an important financial institution that quotes bitcoin futures.