What does Goldman Sachs tell Bitcoin customers?

The total capitalization of virtual currencies has reached $ 120 billion, of which Bitcoin accounts for half.
The Goldman Sachs Group acknowledges that it is hard for institutional investors to overlook the virtual currency market. Total market capitalization has swelled to $ 120 billion, of which bitcoin has risen more than 200% this year.

"Whether you believe that investing in virtual currency is worth the price or not, very real dollars are flowing into this market and there is no denying that this is worth watching," analysts in That is Robert Boroujerdi and Jessica Binder Graham of Goldman Sachs wrote in the report sent to customers.
The focus of debate now is not on the legality of virtual currency, but rather on the speed with which recruits get in the market. Funds raised through fundraising and ICO (like the IPO but not the share issue but the token) are even larger than the funds mobilized from seed startups. on the Internet.

Below, Goldman Sachs experts answer a number of questions related to the virtual currency market.

How to make virtual currency transactions in the US?

Featured products of a financial market such as digital exchanges, lot trading and option contracts will soon be launched. Although individual investors are now able to trade virtual currency on many online exchanges, institutional investors are mostly out of the game because markets are so small and easy to trade. East Sea.

However, batch transactions will facilitate large scale transactions. In addition, there are still Bitcoin options traded on foreign exchange platforms and may be traded in the US later this year.

Is virtual currency money or commodities?
Coins are recognized as a currency because they are considered a medium of exchange, but also a commodity because coin is a finite resource. The classification of virtual currency is currency or commodity depending on the country, the government and even the mode of application.

In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines that virtual currency is not the official currency in any jurisdiction. On the tax side, the IRS views virtual currency as a type of asset.

What is Ethereum?

First, it's a platform; And second, there is also a virtual currency. Unlike bitcoin - designed to replace "real money", Ethereum is a platform set up to run decentralized applications and automatically perform "smart transactions" when certain conditions Definitely be satisfied.

Ethereum provides ether virtual currency, but ether is only a small part of Ethereum's intelligent transactional execution system. Initially, ether was used primarily for incentives and as a reward for network users.

However, the ethereum has also faced some difficulties on its way to development, typically a $ 60 million hack from an organization similar to venture capital funds, "The DAO."

What is the Initial Coin Offer (ICO)?

ICO is a form of capital raising through the sale of tokens. The amount of proceeds from the ICO has grown exponentially in recent times. However, the easy calling of capital without a legal basis beyond what is called a "white paper" has led many agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the People's Bank of China Warned about ICO activities. According to Coin Schedule, the ICO has attracted $ 1.25 billion so far this year.

Although there have been a number of major issues, Goldman's strategists have overlooked the importance of whether or not institutional investors should buy virtual currency.