The American multinational investment bank – Goldman Sachs – intends to spend tens of millions of dollars to acquire or invest in cryptocurrency organizations.
Goldman’s head of digital assets – Matthew McDermott – thinks the involvement of trustworthy regulated players in the crypto industry could improve its current condition.
In a recent interview for Reuters, McDermott said the FTX collapse had created some “really interesting opportunities” for Goldman Sachs. As such, the Wall Street giant plans to purchase or invest millions of dollars in some crypto entities currently “priced much more sensibly.”
The executive thinks the crash of the exchange caused massive tumult in the entire market and affected investors’ interest. However, he is certain blockchain technology will remain an essential feature of the financial network.
“It’s definitely set the market back in terms of sentiment, there’s absolutely no doubt of that. FTX was a poster child in many parts of the ecosystem. But to reiterate, the underlying technology continues to perform.”
McDermott also sees an increased number of market participants leaving the crypto field and joining traditional finance.
“I suspect a number of them traded with FTX, but I can’t say that with cast iron certainty,” he said.
Goldman’s CEO David Solomon argued last month the FTX drama showed that delving into the world of crypto is still highly risky and speculative. Nonetheless, he sees much potential in its underlying blockchain technology.
The bank’s main rivals are more skeptical on the matter. Morgan Stanley’s CEO – James Gorman – opined earlier this month that digital currencies are not “going away,” but he wouldn’t put an “intrinsic value on it.”
HSBC’s CEO – Noel Quinn – said his institution has no plans to jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon or invest in companies part of the sector.
The Wall Street banking giant has kept some relations with the bankrupt crypto exchange over the past few years.
David Soloman met Sam Bankman-Fried in April this year to discuss possible collaborations between the two organizations.
At its peak, the exchange reached a valuation of $32 billion. Back then, SBF made an interesting comment suggesting that if his former firm kept expanding, it could become so big that it could buy giants like CME and even Goldman Sachs.
The financial institution has also been in talks with the US subsidiary of the platform for potential integration of the latter’s derivative operations.