Headlines about Goldman Sachs are moving the cryptocurrency market in early New York trading,with a report from Business Insider causing crypto traders to scratch their heads. Specifically, the Wall Street giant is said to be postponing its plans to establish a cryptocurrency trading desk.
According to the report, the plan has been shelved. The move of Goldman Sachs comes amid continuing controversy over the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. US regulators have been particularly cautious when looking at applications to list this instrument.
While there are plenty of ways to trade Bitcoin, Goldman Sachs doesn’t seem interested in delving to deep into crypto just yet. Ironically, the headline seems to be moving the crypto market, which is supposed to be insulated from players like Goldman Sachs.
To Crypto or Not to Crypto
Rumours that institutional players are entering the crypto space have been swirling in recent quarters. These reports were particularly numerous at the time when Bitcoin was flying to the moon in Q4 of 2017.
The total market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency market at the time was close to $1 trillion. Since then, the across the board collapse saw a significant decline in money committed to the asset class. Today the total market cap for all coins is just above $222 billion as of writing.
Back to today's headline: the market tanked sharply on the news and appears to be down still. False hopes of more institutional players entering the market have collapsed, and so has the price. This morning Bitcoin was trading at a little over $7300; as of press time it is changing hands at below $7000.
Hourly chart of Bitcoin, Source: TradingView
When Bitcoin Wobbles, Altcoins Shatter
Altcoins appear to be particularly hard hit today. While the price of Bitcoin dropped 5 percent, Ethereum, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash are all down double digits.
The market’s preferred measure of strength is Bitcoin, and its dominance among the other cryptos is at the highest level since late December. Ethereum dropped below $260, while Ripple is flirting with the ¢30 level.
Standing at 54.33% as of writing, the metric represents confidence in the king of Cryptocurrencies . Back in January, as Ethereum’s value skyrocketed at the expense of Bitcoin, the figure stood at all time lows, in the low thirties.
All time Bitcoin dominance chart in %, Source: Coinlib.io
Goldman Moves the Crypto Market?
If you are into the cryptocurrency revolution hype and see the effect of the headline on the market, what do you think? The nightmare: Goldman Sachs is moving the market once more, just as with fiat. Stay safe and keep your positions well hedged!
