If we stick with Bitcoin in 2014, the Wall Street giants were mocking already from them. The digital currency and the interest it developed.

Goldman is slowly approaching, for one of the great powers of Wall Street, with his CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, happy to talk and think about the potential of Bitcoin and Blockchain. . However, the bank has not yet delivered directly into Bitcoin. But, the latest move by the Circle mobile payment application to acquire a rather large crypto exchange, Poloniex, could see Goldman get more involved because of their $ 50 million investment in the Circle

Circle game plan

Mobile trading applications entering the cryptocurrency waters are nothing new. The latest example is RobinHood, which recently made the headlines with its decision to support crypto trading, but at no cost.

Circle announced in recent days that it has acquired Poloniex, in what it has called the Circle goal with this acquisition, according to their announcement, is to create "a global open tokens market ". This will be done through one of the three Circle branches, called Circle Invest, with its slogan being "crypto without crypticism."

On the side of Poloniex, the company that was responsible for customer support and problems of scale hailed the partnership. They announced:

"Bringing the Circle experience to increase the scalability and reliability of our platform and our operations. The experience of the The user is paramount, and if we aspire to build a symbolic market that will change the fundamentals of the overall value exchange, we can not be content with the excellence of our product. "

Clearly, it is positive for both platforms.The mobile payment application is moving towards cryptocurrency and is contributing to its overall development.And on the other hand, This is a positive development for cryptomarket as it allows easier access for those who have not yet ventured in. However, the underlying benefit of all this could well be a Wall Street bank. , so often portrayed as the enemy of the decentralized financial system that gradually evokes a force with which to count

Links with Goldman Sachs

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Through the history of Goldman with Bitcoin, the bank went from denouncing it to proclaiming that it could not be ignored, to ruminate its potential, to invest in Blockchain, and finally to spread its own trading desk. Goldman Sachs has refuted the rumors on the trading desk, as they seem to stop just before getting their hands dirty with cryptocurrencies.

Goldman Sachs has been building its relationship with Circle since 2013, when Michele Burns, a Goldman Sachs board member, joined the Board of Directors of Jeremy Allaire's startup, Circle. From there, Goldman showed his appreciation for the global vision that Circle proclaimed and put its money where it is by investing $ 50 million in the Boston-based company in May 2015.

Managing Director Tom Jessop , who directs The firm's main strategic investment to focus on strategic investments in the financial industry, said at the time:

"We believe that the vision produced of Circle and its outstanding management team represent a decisive opportunity – digital payments space . "

This seems to be a move by the Bank of Wall Street to get its fingers in the cryptographic pie without completely immersing himself in the crypto trading business. He has a big investment in a company that has acquired a cryptocurrency exchange. Regulators reacted well to this acquisition with a leaked document showing that the SEC is happy to ease some of its charges against Poloniex

<img alt=" Goldman Sachs' way through the crypto "src =" http: / /cointelegraph.com/storage/uploads/view/63e19486ddf7cd2bc6435c6ad0568f56.png "title =" Goldman Sachs Path Through Crypto "/>

Facilitating the Regulatory Path

PowerPoint Slide The confidential presentation of Circle was published by Nathaniel Popper, a writer of the New York Times, who wrote: "I have just received this slide from a confidential presentation of the Circle, which better explains the. Circle's acquisition of Poloniex that all I saw today. "

I just got this slide from a confidential presentation of the Circle, which explains much more The acquisition of Poloniex by Circle that all I could see today: pic.twitter.com/gRXxDeXvxl – Nathaniel Popper (@nathanielpopper) Fe February 26, 2018

The slide explains how the SEC agreed to not pursue any lawsuit against Poloniex if the exchange was acquired by Circle. It 's also something that could put Goldman' s mind at ease when we get closer to cryptocurrencies, because the bank and its operations are of course quite in the book. Goldman's decision not to enter the cryptocurrency market directly must be related to their strict compliance with the regulations and their links with the decision-makers.

The current Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, is a former Goldman executive. , as well as former Treasury secretaries Hank Paulson and Robert Rubin. There are a number of senior government officials who are former Goldman employees. A former Goldman Sachs CEO, Jon Corzine, resigned to become an American Senator and later Governor of New Jersey.

Circle has already shown that despite its functioning in the regulatory gray area of ​​cryptocurrencies, its position is strongly aligned with In a testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing entitled " Beyond the Silk Road: potential risks, threats and promises of virtual currencies, "Jeremy Allaire, CEO of 2013, explained his commitment to regulation as a money services company.

"We fully commit ourselves to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and to establish comprehensive risk management protocols, in particular, recognizing that we are subject to regulation as a" non-compliance ". a money services business, we are registered with FinCEN as a money issuer and we are actively seeking licenses from the financial authorities of the United States to function as a money issuer in their jurisdiction. "

Still not a bad thing

If Goldman plans to use Circle to penetrate deeper into the cryptocurrency field, this may be positive for the crypto community. However, Goldman's cautious approach to Crypto continues even after the announcement made by Circle.

Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Goldman's CIO, was quoted as saying that cryptocurrencies were a bubble.

"We believe that the cryptocurrencies are in their current format, which means that in the current incarnation, are in a bubble … Bitcoin prices are astronomical.Then we compare that to Ether, and Ether is even more astronomical.So, clearly, these assessments do not make sense to us. "

As often happens, Mossavar-Rahmani also has many things positive to say about Blockchain. "Our view is that while we love the concept of Blockchain, and believe it will become a useful tool for businesses, for the financial sector."

The message is mixed while continuing the series of skeptical statements. Of the largest investment banks in the world has its participation in the startup more than friendly currency to digital. There may already be some in the cryptocurrency market that does not like the idea of ​​a Wall Street Bank getting closer to space, but if Goldman is looking to To help Circle succeed and to ease the regulatory path, it could well define a practicable road for others to follow.