Earlier this week, a report circulated by Business Insider indicated that Goldman Sachs had paused its efforts to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk – something Goldman had confirmed it was pursuing earlier this year.
Today, according to CNBC, Goldman is still considering its options with Goldman CFO Martin Chavez calling the earlier report they were no longer investigating a crypto trading desk “fake news.”
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in SF, Chavez stated;
“I never thought I would hear myself use this term but I really have to describe that news as fake news,” said Chavez, adding that clients want access to crypto. “The next stage of the exploration is what we call non-deliverable forwards, these are over the counter derivatives, they’re settled in U.S. dollars and the reference price is the bitcoin-U.S. dollar price established by a set of exchanges.”
Chavez added that Goldman is exploring digital assets and their perspective would be evolving over time.
Demand Meet Supply
Following the “fake news” report, Bitcoin tanked. Today, Bitcoin pricing remains subdued – perhaps due in part to the ongoing ambiguity as to what, exactly, Goldman Sachs plans to do.
Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, have gained in acceptance in recent years as a method of value transfer and speculation. But these same virtual currencies are still criticized as being clumsy when it comes to everyday purchases. As for the broader universe of altcoins created by initial coin offerings, this remains a wild west type environment driven by casino like speculation.