Bitcoin and other digital assets will soon be available to Goldman Sachs’ wealth management clients, per a report by CNBC. Mary Rich, Goldman Sachs’ head of digital assets of the private wealth management division confirmed plans to launch a “full-spectrum” of investment products in the flagship cryptocurrency and some altcoins in the second quarter of this year.
Rich notes that the banking giant will be offering BTC investment via “physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional vehicles” to the private wealth clients in the near-term.
Further, she highlighted that the bank’s clients have witnessed the explosive growth of the crypto industry and they are motivated to dip their toes. These clients “feel like we’re sitting at the dawn of a new internet in some ways and are looking for ways to participate in this space”, Rich postulated.
Goldman Sachs’ decision was further supercharged by the economic uncertainty in the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged over a year ago.
“There’s a contingent of clients who are looking to this asset as a hedge against inflation, and the macro backdrop over the past year has certainly played into that.”
Corporate And Institutional Adoption Of Bitcoin Spiralling
Goldman Sachs’ is not the only major U.S. financial institution moving into the cryptoassets space.
Just last month, Tesla made a $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin while MicroStrategy has been a repeat buyer — accumulating to the tune of billions since August last year.
More recently, Morgan Stanley announced that it will be offering its wealthy clients the option to invest in bitcoin. These clients however must have at least $2 million held by the firm and a high-risk tolerance in order to be able to get involved in the nascent asset class.
Notably, both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are only allowing their richest clients access to bitcoin. But crypto pundit and Morgan Creek’s Anthony Pompliano suggests that “eventually they will have to offer bitcoin services to everyone”.
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