Goldman Sachs analyst Jeff Currie: Bitcoin is maturing

Currie told CNBC that Bitcoin's strong rally has attracted more interest from institutional investors, but he noted that smart investors still make up only a small portion of the overall market. He said that for Bitcoin to become a stable asset and avoid the flash crash seen earlier this week, a large number of smart investors will need to rush into the market.

“I think the market is starting to mature a little bit more,” Currie said of bitcoin, adding that “volatility and the risks associated with it” are common in emerging assets.

He continued:

“The key to creating some stability for the market is the increase in institutional investors, which are currently very rare in the market, accounting for only about 1% of institutional funds.”

Over the past year, some of Wall Street’s biggest names have thrown their weight behind Bitcoin. Legendary investors Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller have invested in the digital asset, while U.S. insurance company MassMutual and British investment management company Ruffer Investment Company have bought large Bitcoin positions.

Last month, Anthony Scaramucci’s hedge fund SkyBridge Capital filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a new Bitcoin fund.

The fund is jointly invested by MicroStrategy, Grayscale, PayPal and Square, with a fund size of tens of billions of dollars.

Goldman Sachs has even changed its approach to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more generally. Not only has the company beefed up its human resources and hired digital currency experts, it has also issued guidance on the peaceful coexistence of Bitcoin and gold as macro hedges.

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, also reportedly wants Goldman Sachs to lead its upcoming IPO.

Jeffrey R. Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, said that after more than a decade of extreme price volatility, Bitcoin (BTC) is finally beginning to mature as an asset class. (Cointelegraph)