Are These Financial Firms About To Enter The Crypto Market

The relationship between finance firms and the cryptocurrency market is often a frosty one, but is this all about to change? According to an industry poll that was conducted by Thomson Reuters, 20% of financial firms say that they are ready to get involved in the crypto market, and experts believe that this could just be the start. 20% of more than 400 clients are considering making a push into the cryptocurrency market within  the next 6 months. Neill Penney, who is the co-head of trading at Thomson Reuters, said;

“Cryptocurrency is still a relatively small part of the trading market, but this survey makes clear this niche segment is starting to enter the mainstream of the financial services industry. This is a major change from a year ago.”

It has become clear over the past 12 months, that financial firms would be foolish to ignore the potential that the cryptocurrency market has, with Bill Barhydt, the CEO of American Express saying;

“I talk to hedge funds, high net worth individuals, even commodity speculators. They look at the volatility in the crypto markets and they see it as a huge opportunity. Once that happens, all hell will break loose.”

The survey results have come after huge banking firm Goldman Sachs announced that they were hiring former trader Justin Schmidt, who will head the multinational investment banks and financial services company’s digital asset markets in Goldman’s securities division. Their new employee had previously served as a senior VP at Seven Eight Capital and portfolio manager at LMR Partners, with a keen interest in cryptocurrencies. Tiffany Galvin-Cohen, a spokesperson for Goldman Sach’s said;

“In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space. At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”

Goldman Sach’s are not the only large Wall Street firm that is interested now. Many missed out after last year’s epic bull run, but they are unlikely to be so slow this time. You can expect more big names in the financial market to get involved with crypto soon.