Bitcoin officially became mainstream in 2017. With hype and FOMO, it was able to reach an all-time high that year of almost $20,000. But 2018 is quite different from last year. If you entered late 2017, there is a chance that you are suffering from losses on your investment.
Bitcoin has already lost more than half of its value since the beginning of the year. In addition to this, added regulations have kept the price down in the last few months.
However, if there is something to be hopeful for in the crypto market, that is the possible involvement of institutional investors. But is everyone really on the same page? Goldman Sachs has been in the news that they are also trying to get involved in cryptos. In fact, Circle is a $3 billion company that has been backed by the US investment bank.
However, if you will ask Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Bitcoin isn’t really for him. He said in an interview that “it’s not for me” when asked whether or not he invests on Bitcoin. He said that “I don’t do it. I don’t own Bitcoin”.
Goldman and Cryptos
Goldman Sachs has been considered to have designed a strategy when it comes to their Bitcoin futures trading operations. However, the bank is still waiting for regulatory clarity depending on how things play out. Blankfein in the past mentioned that though he has a “level of discomfort” with Bitcoin, he can still tolerate it.
He even said that “I have discovered through the years that there are a lot of things that work out quite well that I don’t really like”. He added that “Perhaps in the new world, something gets backed by general opinion… If we traveled into the future and bitcoins were productive, I might be able to describe how it’s a natural evolution of money”.
Blankfein is also planning to leave Goldman Sachs next year. For many crypto investors, many are anticipating if this could mean Goldman Sachs could be more involved in the crypto market?
Natural Evolution of Money?
If you will ask Jeremy Allaire, who is the co-founder of Circle, he mentioned that “our view is that all fiat currency will be crypto”. Circle lets institutional investors to get involved on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Though Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies is experiencing a bearish trend these days, many are expecting regulatory clarity to do the trick in order to get things to go up again. Tom Lee of Fundstrat mentioned that it institutional investors are still hesitant to enter the market mainly because of regulatory concerns.
Now, there are businesses that have been involved working with regulators. Coinbase, for instance, has been working not only with US Securities and Exchange Commission but even with the regulators from Japan. You also have the Square’s Cash App receiving a BitLicense from New York that makes it even easier to transact using cryptos.
At this point, Blankfein’s opinion on Bitcoin may not mean a lot. As long as Goldman Sachs is willing to get involved in the market, then we can expect another bullish run in the near future.
