According to Matt McDermott, the head of digital assets at major investment bank Goldman Sachs, institutional demand for Bitcoin is currently particularly high.
The banker explained during a podcast that a recent survey revealed that 40% of the nearly 300 Goldman Sachs institutional customers already have exposure to cryptocurrencies by the means of derivatives, securities, and indirect offerings. McDermott said that as a result, a growing number of banks is looking to develop new investment products to satisfy that demand. The Goldman Sachs executive also pointed out that the continuing “huge” demand from institutions and private banking clients sets the ongoing Bitcoin rally apart from the previous ones:
We have seen no signs of that abating. And when we talk about institutional demand, we talk about the whole cross section of the industry sectors... And when I talk about the broad spectrum, I'm referring to hedge funds, to asset managers, to macro funds, to banks, to corporate treasurers, insurance, and pension funds.
McDermott noted that 76% of the surveyed institutional customers expect Bitcoin's price to reach between $40,000 and $100,000 by the end of the current year, while 22% are more optimistic and expect it to be priced north of $100,000. 61% of those investors expect to see further growth in the value of their Bitcoin investments in the subsequent year as well.
McDermott also confirmed last week's rumors that the bank is resuming activity at its Bitcoin trading desk to offer Bitcoin futures to its clients. McDermott added that the effort will be “quite narrow initially,” noting that U.S.-based banks have to comply with local regulations that bar them from trading physical crypto assets.