It has been two weeks since Morgan Stanley announced that it will be adding Bitcoin as an eligible investment to multiple institutional funds. Since then, the race has been on, with many expecting others such as banking powerhouse Goldman Sachs to join the bandwagon and go even deeper into the crypto-space.
During a recent interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon predicted that there would be “a big evolution” in the digital currency space in the coming years.
“This is a space that’s evolving…I think there will be a big evolution as to how this evolves in the coming years.”
Here, it’s worth noting that Solomon didn’t reveal much about Goldman Sachs’ ambitions with respect to Bitcoin, with the exec suggesting that the current regulatory landscape in the U.S is preventing the bank from doing so. That being said, the CEO did make it clear that the institution is keeping a close eye on crypto due to growing client demand.
“There are significant regulatory restrictions around us and us acting as a principle around cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.“
He added,
“As our clients have demanded to be involved in this space we can continue to find ways to support our clients.”
According to a survey conducted by the firm of nearly 300 clients, 40% currently have exposure to cryptocurrencies. In fact, Matt McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets in Goldman Sachs’ Global Markets Division, also touched upon something similar in a recent podcast. With regards to the same, the CEO endorsed the fast adoption of Bitcoin globally, commenting,
“I think Bitcoin is on an inevitable path to have the same market capitalization and then a…higher one than gold. It’s how fast adoption is happening. Adoption is happening faster than I had predicted.”
Interestingly, Solomon referred to Bitcoin as a “digital asset that is more like gold than a payment network, so its value will continue to increase over the years.” Other enthusiasts have often presented similar views with respect to comparing the asset classes of Bitcoin and gold.
The businessman’s statements came a day after Goldman Sachs reported that it will offer investment products around Bitcoin by the second quarter of 2021. Previously, Goldman Sachs had filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March for the creation of an exchange-traded fund. Also, Goldman decided to give its cryptocurrency trading desk another go last month after shelving it back in 2018.
