Goldman Sachs: Bitcoin's recent rally driven by retail investors, more institutions are getting involved

Zhitong
2024.03.20 06:58
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Goldman Sachs' digital asset manager revealed that more and more institutions are getting involved in cryptocurrencies, pointing out that the price trend of Bitcoin is mainly driven by retail investors. The digital asset manager at Goldman Sachs stated at a digital asset summit that the Bitcoin ETF has triggered a psychological shift among investors. Major banks like Goldman Sachs are also paying attention to the potential of blockchain technology. While pilot projects show promise, the mainstream issuance of digital assets and a thriving secondary market have yet to be realized. Over time, it is expected that more assets will be tokenized and reach scale. Recently, financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs have participated in pilot projects of financial blockchain networks

According to Zhitong Finance, the head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs revealed that more and more institutions are getting involved in cryptocurrencies, pointing out that so far, the price trend of Bitcoin has been mainly driven by retail investors. He emphasized, "But we have started to see some institutions entering the market," and added that investors' appetite has "changed".

Goldman Sachs' digital asset head, Mathew McDermott, discussed cryptocurrencies at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) held in London on Tuesday. The investment bank launched a cryptocurrency trading platform in 2021 and continues to develop on this basis.

Bitcoin surged to a record high last week but experienced a pullback afterwards, dropping below $63,000 on Tuesday. Commenting on the recent price surge of Bitcoin, McDermott emphasized, "The price trend... is still mainly driven by retail investors. But we have started to see these institutions entering the market... People's appetite has changed."

McDermott pointed out that the Bitcoin ETF triggered a "psychological shift". The analyst stated, "Last year was very difficult, but just this year, we have seen huge changes not only in the types of clients but also in trading volumes." He added that the launch of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in early January triggered a "psychological shift".

Major banks including Goldman Sachs are focusing on the potential of blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrencies, believing that this technology can fundamentally change asset trading, enabling the issuance of digital versions of traditional assets such as bonds. While pilot projects have shown promise, the mainstream issuance of these digital assets and a thriving secondary market have not yet been achieved.

McDermott said, "I do believe that over time, we will start to see more asset classes tokenized and truly reach a certain scale - but this may take one or two years."

Recently, Goldman Sachs, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), Standard Chartered Bank, and other financial institutions have participated in a pilot project focused on finance on the Canton Network, a blockchain network aimed at leveraging resources from various blockchains to achieve interoperability of applications

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