Bitcoin and crypto are dead. We know this, because we read that somewhere, plus we overheard a bloke in a pub saying it. Meanwhile, financial services titan Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to spend tens of millions of dollars on crypto firms while they’re dirt cheap.

The implosion of the crypto exchange FTX has, according to Goldman Sachs head of digital assets Matthew McDermott, heightened the need for “more trustworthy, regulated cryptocurrency players” and, to that point, big banks have been spying an opportunity to pick up business in the space. And that means either through investing in, or actually buying up crypto-focused firms.

McDermott was speaking with Reuters and told the media outlet: “We do see some really interesting opportunities, priced much more sensibly,” adding that Goldman is doing its due diligence on “a number of different crypto firms”.

No details on which crypto companies in particular were revealed, however.

 

‘The underlying technology continues to perform’

The Goldman exec also commented on the general crypto sentiment ever since Sam Bankman-Fried and co roiled the market.

“It’s definitely set the market back in terms of sentiment, there’s absolutely no doubt of that,” noted McDermott. “FTX was a poster child in many parts of the ecosystem. But to reiterate, the underlying technology continues to perform.”

Goldman Sachs reportedly earned US$21.6 billion last year, so a “tens of millions” punt on the crypto space is a drop in the ocean for the firm, really. Still, McDermott’s words indicate his firm still sees long-term opportunity in an industry and market that’s currently dealing with more flesh wounds than a one-episode Walking Dead character.

For their part during all this FTX mess, Goldman Sachs is actually feeling pretty good about themselves. According to McDermott, the firm’s trading volumes actually spiked as investors sought out the safety of services operating in a regulated market – as opposed to crypto’s relatively wild west.

“What’s increased is the number of financial institutions wanting to trade with us,” said McDermott. “I suspect a number of them traded with FTX, but I can’t say that with cast iron certainty.”

‘TradFi sees an opportunity’

The notion that the crypto industry has been set back years has been commonly touted since the FTX implosion, but here’s Kiwi on-chain data analyst Willy Woo with a slightly different view.

Ryan Selkis, a Bitcoin and crypto OG and co-founder of the crypto data research company Messari, also posted a relevant, interesting tweet earlier today. Wonder if Coinbase is one of the companies on Goldman Sachs’ wishlist…

 

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