The Vampire Squid has done a full 180 degree turn on crypto
Rewind the clock several months ago and bitcoin put out a lengthy report to their clients where they specifically mentioned bitcoin and crypto.
Their final conclusion was that it wasn't an asset class and didn't recommend it to clients.
Rewind the clock a bit futher and they were just as dismissive of bitcoin and crypto.
Well, in news out today, they have hired someone to manage their blockchain/digital asset division and are contemplating creating their own coin...
Say what?
This reminds of the long standing quote that has been uttered by bitcoin investors basically since bitcoin was created.
It goes something like this:
- First they ignore you
- Then they laugh at you
- Then they fight you
- Then you win
(Source: https://satoshiwatch.com/fringe/lunatic-fringe/videos/fighting-off-great-vampire-squid-bitcoin/)
Some of the specifics...
Goldman has done a complete 180 from where they were just several months ago as it relates to crypto.
Some notable quotes from their recent head of blockchain digital assets:
"In the next five to 10 years, you could see a financial system where all assets and liabilities are native to a blockchain, with all transactions natively happening on chain. So what you're doing today in the physical world, you just do digitally, creating huge efficiencies. And that can be debt issuances, securitization, loan origination; essentially you'll have a digital financial markets ecosystem, the options are pretty vast."
"In securities finance and repo, if you look at those markets, they're ripe for standardization. There's a lot of legacy processes in the vast movement of collateral that makes them very cost inefficient, so by leveraging distributed ledger technology, you can standardize processes to manage collateral across the system, and you have a much more efficient settlement process given the real time settlement."
And the really interesting ones for crypto investors and users...
"We are exploring the commercial viability of creating our own fiat digital token, but it's early days as we continue to work through the potential use cases."
"We've definitely seen an uptick in interest across some of our institutional clients who are exploring how they can participate in this space. It definitely feels like there is a resurgence of interest in cryptocurrencies."
Goldman and JPMorgan are birds of a feather...
If you don't recall, JPM also did a 180 on crypto and eventually launched their own coin as well.
I imagine the move by JPM is what spurred GS to act, though the new head of digital assets did mention there has been a ton of interest from clients again as of late. Similar to what was seen back at the height of the craze in late 2017.
Either way, it's pretty funny how two of the largest banks in the world bashed bitcoin and crypto and now they are endorsing it and even creating their coins (potentially).
Funny how that works out.
Stay informed my friends.
Image Source:
https://news.bitcoin.com/goldman-sachs-bitcoin-cryptocurrency/
-Doc