Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has recently revealed he isn’t worried about cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in “any systemic way.” To him, people are currently passionate for and against cryptocurrencies, but he isn’t a fan, as he said it “is not for me, I don’t do it.”
During an interview at the Economic Club of New York, the financial institution’s chief executive officer noted he has in the past passed on fads that worked out – citing cellphones as an example. Blankfein added:
“Now they have cryptocurrency and I always thought “I can’t say why it should work, but if it did work I could explain in hindsight why it did.”
The CEO went on to refer to the evolution of money, noting that people started out with gold as ‘real’ money, which then turned to coins and notes backed by a specific amount of gold. These could be redeemed for the precious metal.
Over time, as Blankfein said, notes supposedly equivalent to an amount of gold started being used, without being redeemable. He added that “at some point they give you a paper that says ‘it’s worth $5, [but] we’re not gonna redeem it, we don’t even have the $5 if we wanted to.’”
Reflecting on how fiat currency came to be and the government’s control over money, he asked: “why can’t you have a consensus currency?” While he isn’t a bitcoin fan, he noted it would be too arrogant to say cryptocurrencies won’t make it.
Blankfein has in the past revealed he sees bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a “vehicle to perpetrate fraud.” Later on, however, the Wall Street titan said he has a “level of discomfort” with the flagship cryptocurrency, although he noted he is open to it.
Goldman Sachs itself, as CryptoGlobe covered, has developed plans to launch a bitcoin futures trading operation. While the exact date in which the operation will be launched hasn’t yet been set, the move was made responding to popular demand after hedge funds, endowments, and other hedge funds showed interest.
Notably reports have suggested Blankfein may leave Goldman Sachs by the end of this year, which could mean the financial institution’s stance towards cryptocurrencies could in the future change.
