As various financial institutions have begun to provide crypto-related services to their customers, cryptocurrencies have finally been recognised by some of the biggest firms in the banking industry. For example, according to reports, investment giant Goldman Sachs are considering issuing its own digital currency.
According to Bitcoin.com, Goldman Sachs plans to issue its own cryptocurrency after appointing a new head of digital assets. The publication added that the investment bank is also negotiating the project with other companies involved in the crypto space, such as JP Morgan and Facebook.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have become extremely popular forms of payment gateways for many in recent years, especially with bettors based in the United States of America. The rise of Bitcoin casinos is a clear result of their popularity as they continue to increase year-on-year.
The newly-appointed head of digital assets, Matthew McDermott, told CNBC that Goldman Sachs is planning to create its own cryptocurrency. He said: “We are exploring the commercial feasibility of creating our own fiat digital token.” McDermott was previously the managing director of the bank’s internal fund operations.
McDermott said the project is still in its early stages because his team is still working “through potential use cases.” However, he has expanded the Goldman Sachs team and reportedly hired Oli Harris, head of digital asset strategy at JP Morgan Chase.
Harris previously worked with JP Morgan’s USD-pegged JPM coin cryptocurrency. He is also the vice president of Quorum, an Ethereum-based blockchain platform.
McDermott believes that it is necessary for Goldman Sachs to establish consensus with other banks, institutional investors and regulators. He added that digital assets “only take off when they gain key users in the financial world.”
The Goldman Sachs executive said that he “spends a lot of time talking to other companies, including JPMorgan and Facebook.” Both companies have their own cryptocurrency projects, because JPMorgan Chase owns its JPM Coin, and Facebook plans to launch its digital currency Libra after solving regulatory issues.
“One Goldman project involves collaboration with JPMorgan, potentially regarding how the two banks’ nascent technology efforts could work together,” McDermott revealed.
McDermott also believes that the financial system is likely to be transferred to the blockchain within ten years. “In the next five to 10 years, you could see a financial system where all assets and liabilities are native to a blockchain, with all transactions natively happening on-chain,” he said.
Goldman Sachs noted the increasing interest of institutional investors in digital currencies. “Since the boom days of bitcoin a few years ago, interest has shifted from retail and rich investors to large institutions,” McDermott said. “We’ve definitely seen an uptick in interest across some of our institutional clients who are exploring how they can participate in this space.”