While the cryptocurrency market eagerly awaits further developments, key figures continue to provide updates. Accordingly, Goldman Sachs’ head of crypto assets Mathew McDermott stated that the potential approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) would increase institutional interest in the crypto market.
Eyes Turn to ETF Approval
Regarding potential ETF approvals, Mathew McDermott shared the following in an interview with Fox Business:
“Firstly, it expands and deepens the liquidity in the market. Why does it do this? Because you are creating institutional products that can be bought and sold by institutions without the need to touch the actual assets. And I think this opens up the universe for pensions, insurers, etc.”
However, McDermott does not believe that the approval of spot crypto ETF applications will result in an immediate transformation. If approved by the SEC, he foresees a gradual change in the crypto sector over the next year.
More than a dozen firms, including traditional finance giants BlackRock and Fidelity, have applied to provide spot Bitcoin ETF services and are waiting for the green light from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Optimism in the market is growing that the regulatory body will finally approve ETF funds for direct investment in Bitcoin.
Goldman Sachs and Its Crypto Team
McDermott expects the crypto market to grow next year due to increased financial applications in the blockchain sector and the growing involvement of traditional financial institutions in the past 12 to 18 months. He highlighted the area of tokenization, predicting developments in these marketplaces next year:
“Thus, we will start to see scale adoption on the buying side, especially in the context of investors. This is because we will begin to see the emergence of secondary liquidity in the ecosystem, which is a significant facilitator. So for me, this is one of the most important developments of the next year.”
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs launched a tokenization platform called GS DAP, which was used by Hong Kong to sell $102 million worth of tokenized bonds, reducing the payment period from five days to one day after the transaction. At that time, McDermott stated that GS DAP could also be used for other assets such as alternatives, fund units, futures, and private equity.
Goldman’s crypto asset team consisted of 70 members at the beginning of this year, and McDermott was reported to be open to hiring more people when appropriate. When McDermott took on his role in 2020, the team had only four members.
