Goldman Sachs sees some “really interesting opportunities” in the cryptocurrency sector following the FTX collapse, McDermott said.
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 – believes that the involvement of trusted regulated players in the crypto industry could improve its current state.
Goldman remains a supporter of cryptocurrencies
In a recent interview for Reuters, McDermott said the FTX collapse had created some “really interesting opportunities” for Goldman Sachs. Therefore, the Wall Street giant plans to buy or invest millions of dollars in some crypto entities that are currently “far more sensibly priced.”
The executive believes that the stock market crash caused massive turmoil throughout the market and affected investor interest. However, he is certain that blockchain technology will continue to be an essential feature of the financial network.
“It’s definitely pushed the market back in terms of sentiment, there’s no question about that. FTX was an example for many parts of the ecosystem. But again, the underlying technology is still working.”
McDermott is also seeing an increase in the number of market participants leaving cryptocurrency and moving into traditional finance.
“I suspect that several of them operated with FTX, but I cannot say with iron certainty,” he said.
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman, said last month that the FTX drama showed that entering the world of cryptocurrencies is still very risky and speculative. Nonetheless, he sees a lot of potential in its underlying blockchain technology.
The bank’s main rivals are more skeptical about it. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman opined earlier this month that digital currencies “are not going away”, but he would not put an “intrinsic value” on it.
Noel Quinn, CEO of HSBC, stated that his entity does not plan to jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon or invest in companies in the sector.
Goldman Sachs and FTX
The Wall Street banking giant has had some dealings with the failing cryptocurrency exchange in recent years.
David Soloman met with Sam Bankman-Fried in April of this year to discuss possible collaborations between the two organizations.
At its peak, the stock market reached a valuation of $32 billion. Back then, SBF made an interesting comment suggesting that if his old company kept expanding, it could become so big that it could buy giants like CME and even Goldman Sachs.
The financial entity has also held talks with the American subsidiary of the platform for a possible integration of the derivatives operations of the latter.
