Goldman Sachs anoints Bitcoin as it opens a cryptocurrency desk: “Goldman Sachs Group Inc has restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk and will begin dealing bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients from next week, a person familiar with the matter said.” As the US banking giant readies the playbook, it is exploring a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) and has issued a notice to explore digital asset custody, Reuters reports
While its price has risen significantly over the past year, bitcoin remains highly volatile. The virtual currency smashed through $58,000 on February 21 then fell back by as much as 25% but has recovered some lost ground.
This makes the coin and related derivatives attractive for investors willing to take riskier long or short positions as they hunt for yield in a record-low interest rate environment.
Non-deliverable forwards are a type of derivative that allows investors to take a view on bitcoin’s future price.
Watch out, with the freezing of this asset class in Nigeria, and the government making sure that its young people, who are already ecosystem players, become spectators, and in five years, Nigeria will ask GS to manage a part of our foreign earnings within its cryptocurrency desk. The reason would be: no company in Nigeria can do that for Nigeria and we have to hire Goldman Sachs.
Yet, I expect the government to reverse course before the end of Q3 after they have studied the sector. What will happen is that Nigeria will regulate it but allow young people to participate in the sector.
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