Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein continues to swagger back and forth about cryptocurrency.
Blankfein, who is expected to step down from his CEO position at Goldman Sachs in December, wore his “pro” bitcoin mettle Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of New York. His latest statements are in line with those he made in early November when he said bitcoin could be a “next step” in the evolution of money. He said he was uncomfortable with bitcoin, but noted he had the same skepticism about cell phones initially.
Reports about Blankfein’s doubts about cryptocurrency gained attention last month when Goldman Sachs announced plans for a bitcoin trading desk as well as a bitcoin linked futures contract.
Blankfein’s Doubts
When bitcoin’s price hit $10,000 in late November, he denounced it as a fraud and said its volatility undermined its usefulness as a store of value. He said he would reconsider this if it stopped fluctuating 20% in a day.
He had previously stated that he was open to bitcoin and that he wouldn’t let his own opinions affect the company’s strategy.