Ethereum sank as much as 15 percent and Bitcoin fell almost 7 percent to a three-week low in a few hours. However, the decision made by Goldman Sachs is likely to be only temporary and may be revised in the near future.
On Wednesday, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies suffered a drop. The news has come together with the announcement that Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs has postponed its plans to set up a cryptocurrency trading desk mowing the case lower down on its priority list.
Goldman Sach has explained that they are currently focused more on other digital-coin services, such as a custody product. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs said:
“In response to client interest in various digital products we are exploring how best to serve them in this space. At this point we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
In December of last year, Goldman Sachs announced its plans to set up a cryptocurrency trading desk by 2018 and become the first Wall Street giant to get involved with the cryptocurrency-related trading activity. Moreover, with appointing a new CEO David Solomon, who will replace the incumbent chief executive Lloyd Blankfein in October, the company was expected to add more bitcoin and other crypto services to its portfolio.
However, now the plans to build a cryptocurrency desk are delayed. According to the company, this setback is likely to be only temporary, and such a decision may be revised in the near future if the regulatory climate improves. The firm’s executives noted that “many steps still need to be taken, most of them outside the firm’s control,” before a firm like Goldman can make a legitimate foray into cryptocurrency trading.
This news was the catalyst that pushed the cryptocurrency market down by over 7% within a few hours. Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at currency trader eToro, commented:
“The expectation of adoption by Wall Street has been a major theme for the cryptocurrency market for the last year, so any kind of updates on that can certainly move the prices. Even if it’s not true, it should be enough to cause a minor selloff like this in cryptocurrencies.”
Bitcoin, the biggest digital asset, saw a more than 3 percent fall in about 10 minutes, while Litecoin, Ethereum and XRP also followed suit. According to CoinMarketCap, the current Bitcoin price makes up $6 455,14. Ethereum skidded by as much as 15 percent, and its price at the moment of writing constitutes $225,91. XRP and Litecoin show the drop of 13% and 18% at the press moment, making $0,285 and $55,51 respectively.
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