Category: Institutions

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Goldman Sachs is Planning to Introduce Bitcoin Investment Services in Q2

Goldman Sachs is Planning to Introduce Bitcoin Investment Services in Q2

Several world-renowned financial companies are gradually preparing to offer Bitcoin and cryptocurrency services amid the growing interest for the emerging asset class amongst their clients. Multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs has been reported by CNBC to have plans to debut a Bitcoin investment offering for its wealth management clients.

Morgan Stanley made a similar move recently – meaning that two of the world’s most prominent investment banks are looking at offering their clients access to Bitcoin and digital assets.

Clients in Goldman’s Private Wealth Management Group will Access Bitcoin

As CNBC learned from Mary Rich, global Head of Digital Assets for Goldman Sachs’s private wealth management division, the investment bank is looking to begin offering its first-ever Bitcoin investment vehicles for clients in its private wealth management group in the second quarter of 2021. 

Rich said the bank wants to offer a “full-spectrum” of investments of the crypto, either as “physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles.”

The bank’s decision to offer Bitcoin services comes amid the increase in demand for such an offering amongst the private wealth clients, according to Rich, who added:

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. […] There is also a large contingent of clients who 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.

Mary Rich, Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is currently seeking approval for the service with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York Department of Financial Services. 

Only a few weeks ago, Goldman Sachs joined the list of companies that filed for a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the United States.

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Crypto News Industries Institutions Trading

Prometheum Partnering With Anchorage To Launch Alternative Trading System for Digital Assets

The alternative trading system (ATS) is set to be a trading venue that matches buyers and sellers for both digital and traditional assets, if approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Opening Privileged Services to the Public

As announced by Anchorage, Prometheum CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that the ATS application is still pending at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Notwithstanding the approval, the company has built a system that allows brokerage firms and clearing firms to speak to each other easily in an effort to win over Wall Street companies to use a platform with which they’re familiar.

Currently this kind of service is only open to accredited and institutional investors, but Prometheum Ember ATS (“PEATS”) will be available to the public as well.

A public ATS for digital assets will allow more efficient order matching and better price discovery, bringing smaller price spreads and simplified participation for all investors,

Aaron Kaplan, Prometheum CEO

When the ATS goes live, Prometheum will be a full-service SEC and FINRA registered electronic market integrating both traditional and blockchain technology for the trading of digital asset securities, with on-chain custody and settlement provided by Anchorage Digital Bank.

It’s a Nasdaq on the blockchain

Aaron Kaplan, Prometheum CEO
Prometheum Homepage: Prometheum

Anchorage Holds the Key for Prometheum to Operate

Anchorage’s bank charter allows it to hold digital assets for broker-dealers and their clients, said Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley. ATS itself “is something that is a trading system but it’s not regulated as an exchange.”

Other ATS providers for digital securities include OpenFinance and the Public Private Execution Network. Security token firm Securitize applied for both a broker-dealer license and an ATS in October.

Adding more ATS platforms for the digital security market will give issuers more liquidity for their tokens

Nathan McCauley, Anchorage CEO

During its charting process, Anchorage got specific approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to custody security tokens on behalf of broker-dealers, McCauley added. The bank plans to offer cash loans with security tokens acting as collateral. Regulatory foundations are being set by these landmark organisations and act as support for the first public market for digital asset securities.

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Bitcoin Institutions

First Bitcoin Cashback Mortgage Launched in Canada

Mogo, a Toronto-based fintech company and loan lender, has launched the first Bitcoin Cashback Mortgage in Canada — this means that Canadians can request a mortgage loan and earn at least $3,100 worth of Bitcoin.

Mogo is a fintech company that has expanded its Bitcoin Cashback program to include MogoMortgage, turning the company into the first-ever mortgage lender that will reward its users with Bitcoin.

The Crypto Market Expands in Canada

The crypto market in Canada is growing fast, mostly thanks to governmental support for crypto-assets. At least 3 BTC ETFs have been approved at the beginning of this year. Just a month after it was launch, Canada’s first Bitcoin ETF accrued over $450 million from investors.

This means that Canadians are keener to explore cryptocurrencies, but their inherent risk can drive away prospective investors. David Feller, CEO at Mogo, believes MogoMortgage can meet this demand without risking its customer’s capital:

Given the volatility and speculative nature of bitcoin, there’s an increasing number of Canadians who are looking for ways to participate without risking their own money, and our bitcoin rewards program meets this demand.

David Feller, CEO at Mogo [Business Wire]

Canada’s First Bitcoin Mortgage Cashback

Feller remarked that Bitcoin can offer unique opportunities as a long-term investment, stating that a $3,100 investment five years ago would now worth over $350,000.

Unlike traditional reward programs, bitcoin rewards have the unique characteristic of being an asset class that can rise in value over time – $3,100 invested in bitcoin 5 years ago would be worth over $350,000 today.

David Feller, CEO at Mogo [Business Wire]

With a $1.7 trillion mortgage market, Mogo expects to receive a large inflow of clients seeking exposure to crypto-assets, earning Bitcoin without risking their capital. “This is a great way to get a mortgage,” stated Greg Feller, Mogo’s Chief Financial Officer.

The residential mortgage market in Canada is a massive market estimated at about $1.7 trillion, and we’re pleased to provide Canadians with a great way to get a mortgage, while also earning bitcoin.

Greg Feller, President and CFO at Mogo [Business Wire]
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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Institutions

PayPal Will Allow Crypto Payments to its 29 Million Merchants in the U.S.

PayPal is now allowing U.S. customers to pay with cryptocurrency the same way they would with a credit or debit card. The crypto checkout service will allow using crypto holdings to pay at millions of merchants worldwide.

Following its previous plans to allow crypto payments with its digital wallets, PayPal’s crypto checkout service is live today in the U.S. All users will be able to easily convert their Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin to fiat money and use it with its 29 million merchants.

This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your PayPal wallet.

Dan Schulman, CEO of Paypal [Reuters]

Payments With Crypto

PayPal allowing crypto-payments is a considerable milestone for the crypto-space. The move came weeks after Tesla announced that customers can now buy its vehicles using Bitcoin.

Schulman believes that by converting crypto into fiat, merchants will not take into consideration their inherent volatility.

We think it is a transitional point where cryptocurrencies move from being predominantly an asset class that you buy, hold and or sell to now becoming a legitimate funding source to make transactions in the real world at millions of merchants.

Dan Schulman, CEO of Paypal [Reuters]

Besides Paypal, Crypto.com announced a global partnership with Visa to accelerate the worldwide adoption of cryptocurrencies and crypto-payment methods. This will allow further expansion of MCO cards all over the Middle East, Africa, and Asian countries.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

Former SEC Chairman Jay Claton Becomes an Advisor to a Bitcoin Fund Manager

Former SEC Chairman, Jay Claton Becomes an Advisor to a Bitcoin Fund Manager

The former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, will be serving as an advisor to One River Asset Management, a company behind a $2.5 billion Bitcoin fund.

One River Appoints Clayton as Regulatory Advisor

According to Bloomberg’s report on Monday, Jay Claton has been appointed to serve as regulatory advisor to the digital assets manager. Besides the former SEC chairman, two other government officials, Kevin Hassett and Jonathan Orszag will be joining One River for the same role. Hassett served under President Donald Trump’s administration as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, while Orszag is an economic consultant who previously worked in the Clinton administration.

The digitization of our financial ecosystem isn’t just coming, it’s already here. Three years ago, I didn’t believe we would be where we are today – the number of respected investors who have embraced digital assets. I would not have predicted this level of take-up.

Jay Clayton

However, Clayton noted that the development today doesn’t translate to a change in view on the importance of the rule of law and of regulation for the digital currency space or any other industry.

I see a wide range of outcomes for digital assets that include strong government regulation, domestically and globally. The time frame is uncertain, but I expect there will be international coordination if not international consensus around digital assets.

Jay Clayton

About One River Asset Management

One River reportedly began purchasing Bitcoin back in November, when the cryptocurrency was still trading around $15,000. From $1 billion in Bitcoin then, the company currently sees about $2.5 billion in Bitcoin under management. The CEO at One River, Eric Peters, seems to believe in digital currencies more as a store of value and inflation hedge rather than alternatives to fiat currencies.

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Blockchain Crypto News Institutions Travel

Blockchain-based COVID-19 Passports are Now Available in New York

The Excelsior Pass, a digital COVID-19 application, is now official in New York. It uses blockchain technology to protect and validate data from users, allowing them to travel, attend sports events, art performances, and more.

The pass is a voluntary application that uses IBM’s Digital Health platform. This app will help organisations to validate user’s health credentials by scanning the person to verify proof of vaccination or negative PCR test results.

The NY Governor Andrew Cuomo announced its launch on March 26, and the app is now officially available for Android and iOS.

Blockchain-based COVID-19 passports

Although the passport is voluntary and helps to verify health credential, it will not keep records of users data. All the information is stored on the blockchain, and only users can access their personal information.

“Secure technologies, like blockchain and encryption, are woven throughout Excelsior Pass to help protect the data, making it verifiable and trusted. No private health data is stored or tracked within the apps.”

Statement from the official announcement

The Excelsior Pass was first announced on March 4 as a pilot program that could help re-open travelling and commerce all over the United States. If the passport turns out successful, other countries considering issuing COVID-19 passports could follow suit by implementing Blockchain technology.

Excelsior Pass is another tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure.”

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of NY
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Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

Bitcoin to Hit $400K, Says Bloomberg Analyst

Bitcoin could become a global digital reserve asset, according to Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

McGlone recently shared on his Twitter account a graph of the Bitcoin annual average price and the bitcoin Liquid Index. As shown below, BTC could reach a potential price of over $400,000 by 2021, considering its price behaviour in the past.

Source: Bloomberg Intelligence.

The Maturation Leap for Bitcoin

McGlone considers Bitcoin’s current bull run a “maturation leap”, which could lead the cryptocurrency to become a risk-off global reserve asset, as more institutional investors are seeking BTC exposure through investment firms.

Well on its way to becoming a global digital reserve asset, a maturation leap in 2021 may be transitioning Bitcoin toward a risk-off asset, in our view.

Mike McGlone

This view is reinforced by a broader institutional interest and adoption. Investment firms, asset managers, and other financial institutions have filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a Bitcoin Exchanged-traded Fund.

An ETF Could Catapult Bitcoin

Analyst Lark Davis believes an ETF could give Bitcoin a boost the same way it did with the first gold ETF in 2003.

Since Bitcoin first appeared 13 years ago, its market cap went from zero to over $1 trillion. If a BTC ETF is approved, the crypto market could experience an even greater boost thanks to accredited investors and institutional capital could flock to the ETF.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Institutions

US Procurement Agency is Planning a 6.79 Bitcoin Auction

US Procurement Agency is Planning Another 6.79 Bitcoin Auction

In the coming week, the United States General Services Administration (GSA) will auction about 6.79 Bitcoin, according to an update on Wednesday. The GSA is an agency providing centralized procurement for the US federal government. 

The announcement today comes one week after GSA auctioned the first-ever Bitcoin through its online clearinghouse service, GSA Auction. According to them, the first auction was more like a test run, yet it generated lots of excitement amongst crypto investors. 

“Our first steps wading into the cryptocurrency market quickly became one of our hottest auctions of 2021.”

The US government is getting acquainted with selling seized cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) announced the auctioning of 4,040.5 Bitcoin, which was worth about $37 million at the time. 

An auction worth USD $380k

During press time, Bitcoin was trading at USD $55,992 according to CoinMarketCap; hence, the 6.79 BTC to be auctioned are worth over US$380,000. The cryptocurrencies will be split into ten different lots and auctioned via the GSA Auction webpage. Bidding starts from March 29 till March 31, according to the report. 

This might possibly provide crypto investors with an opportunity to purchase Bitcoin at a price lower than its market value. The GSA didn’t mention how the government got those cryptocurrencies. However, the cryptocurrencies were likely confiscated from cyber-criminals, just like the ones sold by the Lithuanian government lately.

As Crypto News Australia reported in November, the Lithuanian government bagged more than AU$10 million by selling confiscated cryptocurrencies, which included Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Monero (XMR). These cryptos were reportedly seized by law enforcement agencies in February last year. 

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Bitcoin Institutions

Investment Giant Goldman Sachs Files for a Bitcoin ETF

Goldman Sachs has officially filed for a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) on Wednesday 24, following high demand from clients.

As previously reported by Crypto News Australia, the investment bank was under some heavy pressure from its clients seeking exposure to Bitcoin, as the currency reached new all-time highs, trading at levels of USD $58,700 on March 12.

The filing came a few days after the Chief Operating Officer at Goldman Sachs said the firm was trying to satisfy demand while staying on the regulatory side of U.S. laws. While the document does not state that Bitcoin will be the first crypto, it will allow exposure to cryptocurrencies, and of course, that includes BTC:

The ETF may have exposure to cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, indirectly through an investment in a grantor trust. The ETF’s exposure to cryptocurrency may change over time and, accordingly, such exposure may not always be represented in the ETF’s portfolio.

Goldman Sachs EFT document

Bitcoin Could Skyrocket if Goldman Sachs’s ETF is approved

The crypto community has been paying attention to the possibility of a Bitcoin ETF since the first filings were submitted in 2018. Now the community is eager to know if the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) will finally approve it. 

If approved, the crypto market could see a boost in price as Goldman Sachs’s accredited investors, speed traders, and institutional capital will flock to the ETF.

This could drive Bitcoin’s price to astronomical levels, as a BTC ETF would require Goldman Sachs to back BTC in vaults, so they would have to make massive purchases.

Bitcoin ETFs Seeing Large Inflows of Capital

Throughout time many investment firms and companies have filed for a Bitcoin ETF, but the SEC has rejected all submissions.

Canada is the first country that approved a Bitcoin ETF. As soon as it was launched, the fund saw large inflows of cash, $470 million in just a few weeks.

VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF was the first proposal acknowledged by the SEC and published on its official website on March 18. The SEC has 45 days (39 days left) to approve or deny the proposal.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is also analysing the possibility for a Bitcoin ETF, which would be regulated under the Australian Securities Exchange’s AQUA Rules, according to ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour.

Another investment giant could enter the crypto space with a massive investment. Morgan Stanley is considering investing $254 to $441 million to acquire 10.6% of shares from the Korean crypto exchange Bithumb. Rumours are circulating that the investment bank could acquire the company for $2 billion.

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Crypto News Institutions

Morgan Stanley Rumoured To Buy Korean Exchange Bithumb For $2 Billion

According to a report, Morgan Stanley is currently negotiating with South Korean top crypto-exchange, Bithumb, by investing approximately $254 million to $441 million to acquire 10% of shares.

Asiae, local Korean media, published an article about the negotiation between both giants, which appeared on Naver, a local search engine.

The Bank Could Acquire Bithumb for $2B

According to an anonymous source familiar with the matter, the bank approached Bident, the largest shareholder of Bithumb Korea. The firm holds 10.6% of Bithumb Holdings. Hence, to sell or transfer shares, Bident’s consent is required.

The reason Morgan Stanley used Bident is because it understood that Bident has the right to negotiate a preferred sale to acquire Bithumb Holdings

Bident, a KOSDAQ firm, soared in valuation after the announcement. Shares surged 16% in just a few hours. Moreover, according to analyst Joseph Young, Morgan Stanley may bid $2 billion to acquire Bithumb.

Institutions Entering the Crypto Market

Morgan Stanley is the latest American private bank to enter the crypto market. The giant now offers three Bitcoin Funds to wealthy investors, and the minimum investment is $5 million. Only wealthy and accredited investors with high-risk tolerance are eligible.

The institutional interest in digital assets is increasing every day. Goldman Sachs, another investment bank, recently saw heavy demand from investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin and other crypto-assets just days after re-opening its crypto-trading desk.