[2018-01-26] Goldman Sachs CEO: ‘Bitcoin Trading Desk Rumors Are Not True’

[ivanpoldark]

According to multiple reports back in October and December of last year, it was said that the financial institution Goldman Sachs had plans to create a bitcoin trading desk. Now a month later, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of the firm, says the reports are “not true” speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos this past Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs CEO Denies Opening a Bitcoin Trading Desk

A while back in October, publications started rumors that the banking institution Goldman Sachs was planning to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk. Further, the story was bolstered even more so in December when the financial news outlet Bloomberg said Goldman would start the trading platform this coming June. According to those reports which cited sources “familiar with the matter” Goldman was “still trying to work out security issues as well as how it would hold, or custody, the assets.”

Moving forward to the 2018 World Economic Forum event held in Davos, Lloyd Blankfein explained to the press that the brokerage firm was not planning to open a digital asset trading desk and earlier reports were false.

“What we said was we were opening — We’re clearing futures in bitcoins for some of our futures clients — We’d clear them,” explains Blankfein.   

We’re a prime broker and so if our clients are going to do it, we’re going to do it — A principle bitcoin business where we’re going long and short, market making, so far we’re not.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/goldman-sachs-ceo-bitcoin-trading-desk-rumors-are-not-true/

[Slow death]

so he's probably being pushed to distance himself from bitcoin

“What we said was we were opening — We’re clearing futures in bitcoins for some of our futures clients — We’d clear them,” explains Blankfein.   

Goldman Sachs Admits Bitcoin is Real Money, Cites Use Cases in Developing World

Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs to Setup Cryptocurrency Trading Desk

Goldman Sachs CEO Open to Considering Bitcoin Trading Once Currency Becomes Established

so all this news is rumors. this crypto world does not stop surprising me

[BitHodler]

This makes me even more confident that Goldman Sachs will set up the 'trading desk' they have been hinting at for a while now. I think it has also to do with legal reasons since it may even be seen as insider trading.

Hinting at such crucial information might be able to impact their stock price if they at whatever point announce they actually have started with it. It's a smart way to play all these rumors down and then cause a major boom later.

I am of believe that there are more wall street banks looking to have something similar set up, but they have been silent about it for obvious reasons. It's also a matter of not making your competitors know whar you're up to.

We have seen with CBOE what first mover advantage means.