Robinhood hires Goldman Sachs to lead $20B IPO: report
Digital currency-friendly stock trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc. has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to lead its upcoming IPO.
Latest Goldman Sachs News
The new VP, to be based in London, will play a key part in defining and executing “distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain efforts firmwide, including any potential initiatives in the cryptocurrency space.” According to the job posting on its website, the New York-based investment bank will also charge the VP with identifying opportunities where blockchain and digital assets can add value.
The new VP will work alongside Matthew McDermott, the bank’s global head of digital assets. McDermott took office early this month as the bank looks to delve into the digital assets space, a great turnaround from its earlier stance against the industry.
In a May report that was heavily criticized from within the industry and beyond, the bank downplayed digital currencies, claiming, “Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are not an asset class.” Digital currencies facilitate crime, are too volatile and the trading platforms are too prone to hacks, the bank claimed. For these reasons, it was discouraging its clients from investing in Bitcoin.
However, just a few months later, the bank appointed McDermott, with big plans for its digitals assets division. In an interview, McDermott revealed that the bank is looking at launching its own stablecoin, following in the footsteps of JPMorgan Chase. The two banks could even be collaborating on a project in the near future, he hinted.
McDermott has also set out to expand his team, claiming he aims to double the headcount by hiring aggressively in Europe and Asia. One of his first hires was Oli Harris whom he poached from JPMorgan Chase. Harris was JPMorgan’s head of digital assets strategy and played a key part in the development of JPM Coin.
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The job posting comes weeks after the bank appointed a new head of Digital Assets team and expressed interest in launching a stablecoin.
Goldman Sachs offloads stake in Ripple partner MoneyGram
The investment banking giant has sold a stake worth $6.5 million in MoneyGram, the remittance partner of Ripple, according to SEC filing.
Known internally as F2, Facebook Financial has been set up with the aim of making Facebook a major player in the payment space. The move is the latest to follow on from its ill-fated work on the Libra project.
The team will also focus on payments across the wider Facebook group, including WhatsApp and Messenger payments.
Elsewhere, leading investment bank Goldman Sachs sounded a positive note on digital currencies and digital assets, predicting that the entire financial system could exist on chain over the next decade.
Head of digital assets at Goldman, Mathew McDermott, said everything that can be done today physically will soon be possible on blockchain, echoing the optimism that has long since existed in the sector.
“In the next five to 10 years, you could see a financial system where all assets and liabilities are native to a blockchain, with all transactions natively happening on chain.”
“So what you’re doing today in the physical world, you just do digitally, creating huge efficiencies. And that can be debt issuances, securitization, loan origination; essentially you’ll have a digital financial markets ecosystem, the options are pretty vast.”
Fundstrat Global Advisors published its latest Bitcoin SV (BSV) market report this week, with profiles of 11 unique companies and use cases in the BSV space. The report said BSV was “enabling the next evolution of internet businesses,” supporting new businesses through its innovative protocol. Check out the public summary of the report here.
Look out for the next CoinGeek Live Conference in New York, coming September 30. With keynote presentations from Tom Lee, the co-founder and managing partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors, as well as Wall Street legend George Gilder and nChain Chief Scientist Dr. Craig Wright, it’s one not to be missed.
https://youtu.be/9UgvIdSvuOY
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Facebook returned to its financial ambitions this week, while Goldman Sachs sounded a positive note on digital currencies.
Goldman Sachs optimistic about blockchain and digital currency
The Bitcoin ecosystem is flourishing, and with institutional interest from Goldman Sachs, you can expect Bitcoin to continue to thrive.
‘Outdated’ Goldman Sachs disapproves of digital assets
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Wanted: Managers for Goldman Sachs digital asset project
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Goldman Sachs-backed Circle forced to downsize
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Former Goldman Sachs employees raise $3M to stop crypto manipulation
A group of former Goldman Sachs employees has announced that they have raised more than $3 million toward the development of a startup company meant to provide greater surveillance for the cryptocurrency market.
Are Goldman Sachs cryptocurrency desk plans back in play?
Goldman Sachs acknowledges that it plans on growing its crypto division to support increasing client demand for digital assets.
Trillions of Wall Street dollars begin to point at crypto: JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, ICE are getting serious
The sixteenth installment in a weekly column, A Power of Facing cobbles together the various entry points Wall Street has recently taken up to position themselves within the crypto ecosystem. There’s a pattern forming.
BitGo raises $59M in Goldman Sachs-led Series B funding
Investment giant Goldman Sachs has led a successful $59 million Series B funding round in crypto custodian service BitGo, in the latest example of a major Wall Street institutional investor backing the cryptocurrency sector.