JPMorgan Vs. Goldman Sachs: Crypto Might be the Edge

It’s no secret as to how skeptical the conventional finance world has been of the crypto industry. Countless banks and so-called “financial gurus” have criticized and otherwise condemned the budding industry. Rather famously, they lean against the same age-old points of arguments as to why it’s bad to buy Bitcoin and crypto as a whole are bad and should never ever be engaged in.

JPM Standing Opposed to Goldman Sachs

However, this sentiment has started to shift for some US heavyweight banking firms, it seems, particularly JPMorgan. Recently, the bank has begun to take actions that make it appear that it’s changing its outlook on the market as a whole.

While the banking industry as a whole, at least in the US, is still very much against crypto, JPMorgan seems to be the most accepting of the lot. By contrast, the bank’s rival, Goldman Sachs, has recently gone out of its way to give a scathing remark about its opinion of Bitcoin and other forms of crypto.

One Bank Accepting; One Bank Condemning

With these two stances in contrast to each other, JPMorgan has a chance to get an edge over Goldman Sachs. Simply put, Goldman Sachs has opted not to use a tool, while JPMorgan has decided to experiment with it. This edge is only highlighted when one views the gradual global shift towards cryptocurrencies as a while.

It was earlier this week when the crypto space as a whole was hit with comments from Goldman Sachs, ones that were made during a client interview. The short of the matter is that Goldman had presented a wide array of reasons why Bitcoin and other forms of crypto should never be considered a viable investment option for its investors. This comes from a series of leaked slides they made for a presentation.

Saw the call's slides. Not bitcoin friendly.

"We don't recommend gold on a strategic or tactical basis for clients’ investment portfolios. We don't recommend bitcoin on a strategic or tactical basis … even though its volatility might lend itself to momentum-oriented traders."

— Alex (@classicmacro) May 27, 2020

The Many Ways To Look At It

One of the critical factors in their arguments, as is the norm in these cases, is the fact that the price is purely speculative. Indeed, sound reasoning only if one doesn’t consider the fact that many assets are heavily speculative in value. A key example of this is Elon Musk, and the man’s ability to shave off 12% of his stock price following a tweet. The tweet itself regarded his personal, speculative opinion that the stocks of his company, Tesla, was too high.

JPMorgan, in turn, has decided to start extending banking services to the crypto industry, the first two companies allowed to join being the two heavyweight exchanges Gemini and Coinbase.

Micheal Novogratz of Galaxy Digital took this in stride, stating that JPM’s announcement serves as validation for the crypto industry. He explained that the bank had recognized that the future would have crypto in it.