Bitcoin Is Splitting Wall Street Right Down the Middle 387 Views by Nick Marinoff Leave a Comment
Like the Sherriff of Nottingham admitting to the righteousness of Robin Hood’s actions, some modern banking giants are seeing the greatness behind cryptocurrency — and making a fortune in the process. But how many are truly convinced of bitcoin’s power?
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Take the first subject, Barry Silbert. Over a year-and-a-half ago , the former Wall Street investment banker snapped up Ethereum Classic tokens for a meager $0.50 per token. On Twitter, Silbert mentioned that the risk and return ratio of the coin “felt right,” and that he was willing to give it a chance.
Bought my first non-bitcoin digital currency…Ethereum Classic (ETC)
At $0.
50, risk/return felt right. And I’m philosophically on board
— Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) July 25, 2016
This week, ETC was trading for approximately $31, which means the Digital Currency Group CEO has made about 60+ times his original investment.
He’s remained a monster-sized supporter of cryptocurrency since his earliest days with bitcoin, and now it appears things are paying off.
“I started buying bitcoin at probably around seven bucks and my average price of bitcoin was $11, so when it went from 11 to 13, I thought I was a genius,” he explains.
“When it fell to 8, I thought I was not, but so far, so good.” Despite a nasty slump that took place earlier this week, bitcoin is currently trading for over $15K.
Despite a former life as a Wall Street banker, Silbert’s love of crypto was never really in doubt. What about those who still work in what we call “legacy finance”, but are waiting for the right moment to jump? Many Bankers Are Enthusiastic About Bitcoin
In addition, finance megalith Goldman Sachs has announced it will “set up a cryptocurrency trading desk” by June 2018.
The bank is also looking to immediately clear the “bitcoin futures contract offered by Cboe and CME”, which could bring bitcoin and its crypto-cousins to a whole new level of mainstream acceptance
Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally explained, “In response to client interest in digital currencies, we are exploring how best to serve them.” But Then, a Taste of the Old Gloom-and-Doom
But while some see the advantages of cryptocurrency, its rise to power is posing a lot of questions and problems like what one might witness with the modern stock market, and not every trading expert is convinced a positive future is at hand.
TeleTrade financial consultant Mikhail Grachev, for example, feels if bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were to ever come tumbling down, the result would be a crash similar to the one of 1929. He states that while crypto-mania is at an all-time high, people will never turn their backs on fiat completely, and granted fiat remains, bitcoin is headed for trouble.
“Cryptocurrencies can repeat the history of the 1929 stock market crash,” he said. “Some say the recent collapse of bitcoin is attributed to the cancellation of its hard fork (SegWit2x). Others say investors are fleeing bitcoin and buying Bitcoin Cash. It is possible that the year will close at levels near BTC/USD $7,500.
”
He suggests the market is going to collapse the moment bitcoin’s earliest investors cash out.
“The most important argument is that bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are quoted in U.S. dollars, and no one has given up on the greenback in favor of a combination of digital symbols,” he exclaimed. A Bubble That’s About to Pop?
Additionally, former Wall Street investor Jordan Belfort (the original “Wolf of Wall Street”) stated that the rising prices of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have given many manipulators in both the U.S.
and abroad the opportunity to perform “massive pump-and-dumps,” and for that reason, digital currency remains a “huge danger.”
“There’s no regulation on the actual level of bitcoin itself,” he stated in a recent interview. “Yeah, there’s futures regulation, but the underlying asset is completely unregulated. It’s a dark market… A bubble for sure.”
Does Wall Street need to lighten up, or is there some truth to the negativity? Post your comments below.
Images via Pixabay .
