The cryptocurrency market has experienced huge losses in recent months, but the adoption rate continues to rise.
Former Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein believe that the adoption and growth of cryptocurrencies are happening despite the plunge in prices. He made this known yesterday during an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on “Squawk Box.”
Blankfein has previously voiced his scepticism of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, his views have changed as the market has grown to become a $2 trillion industry with an increasing adoption rate. He said;
“Look, my view of it is evolving. I can’t predict the future, but I think it’s a big thing to be able to predict the present, like, ‘What is happening?’ And I look at the crypto, and it is happening.”
Blankfein explained that the ecosystem around cryptocurrencies has matured in the past year. Over the past two years, numerous traditional financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan, have started to offer their clients indirect access to the cryptocurrency market.
Some of the financial institutions are also offering cryptocurrency custody services and more. The cryptocurrency market reached an all-time high market cap of $3 trillion in November. At the time, Bitcoin and Ether hit new all-time highs of $69k and $4,800, respectively.
However, the market has been in a bearish trend since then, with more than $1.3 trillion wiped out during that period. Bitcoin is trading below the $40k level while Ether is struggling at around $2,800. Despite that, Blankfein believes the ecosystem will continue to grow. He concluded that;
“It’s lost a lot of value, but at a point where it’s trillions of dollars of value contributing to it and whole ecosystems are growing around it. Of course, we have the benefits of instantaneous transfer and reduction of credit risk and all the benefits of blockchain.”
