Goldman Sachs talks on Bitcoin and crypto
First, they insult you, then they laugh at you, then you… win? Goldman Sachs believes adhering to their customer’s demand is much better than individual opinion on Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology as they continue to study cryptocurrencies and how it can better serve their clients.
“And so on the back of our clients asking us, will you offer clearing in these contracts, well, we’re in that business for client facilitation… and so we respond to those client requests, and we have. And we’re in also the business of being careful with our shareholders’ capital, and so we’re doing that with extreme prudence and caution as we learn.” Martin Chavez CFO Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs had announced in December 2017 following earlier rumours in October that they will be launching a trading desk for cryptos. However, they recently revisited the topic. The CFO made it clear that before the trading of cryptocurrencies begins, there are several key topics which must be addressed and that, they are currently working on to facilitate everything for both customers and shareholders.
Could FOMO be the reason Goldman Sachs is revisiting the Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies topic? It had earlier reported their first quarter performance which turned out to be a loss with trading revenue declining by 34% from a year ago. This would also make it the first time in 6 years and will leave Goldman Sachs as one of the only 5 big US banks to report a loss in comparison to the same time last year.
As far as blockchain is concerned, the CFO believes it will be an important innovation and he also believes it is bigger than Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. The company is also considering an integration into blockchain technology.
“the distributed general ledger that is of great and very broad application potential.”
The company has, however, not yet confirmed a date of the launching the crypto trading desk but as of December of last year, they were trying to work out security issues on hold to handle the asset due to its Volatility.
What are your thoughts on this development from Goldman Sachs?