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Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by workthrowaway27 on Thursday December 21, 2017 @05:07PM (#15983278)
They are just making markets, so it's sort of 1 and 2. I say sort of because it means clients want to trade cryptocurrencies. They aren't necessarily high net worth individuals though. My guess is most clients are institutional, though it might be different with people wanting to trade cryptocurrencies. It's FOMO if you think not wanting to lose money to your competitors is FOMO. I'd say it's more just performing one of their job functions.

I doubt they care about being criticized and until GS releases Goldman Coin I doubt they're trying to get a share price bump from this.

Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by twic on Thursday December 21, 2017 @05:18PM (#15983365)
It's not entirely clear to me whether "making markets" means on exchanges, or over the counter. The term normally means on an exchange; over the counter, you're a dealer rather than a market maker.

If it's on exchanges, then it has nothing to do with high net worth clients, or any other kind of client, because they won't be trading with their clients specifically, they'll be trading with other market participants.

if it's OTC, then it could be part of a package of services for clients. That would still a bit weird, though, because a bank would normally act as a broker rather than a dealer for its clients - going to the market and finding them the best price, rather than making its own price.

I think that their reason is much simpler: they think they can make money doing it. I guess you could call that FOMO. But basically, they think that with their trading instincts, technology, and famously huge brains, they can move their prices around so that they can buy low and sell high without getting, as we say in the trade, their faces ripped off.

Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by kgwgk on Thursday December 21, 2017 @06:31PM (#15983918)
Dealers act as market makers quoting bid and ask prices, don’t they?
Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by twic on Friday December 22, 2017 @07:16AM (#15986912)
It's fundamentally the same thing, yes - showing bid and offer prices at which you will get into risk on your own account. But the term "market maker", in my limited experience, usually means on an exchange, whereas it's "dealer" over the counter. For example, you have swap dealers, but futures market makers.
Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by qaq on Thursday December 21, 2017 @05:24PM (#15983410)
"They are just making markets" are you seriously implying GS and JPM are just making markets :)?
Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by workthrowaway27 on Thursday December 21, 2017 @06:10PM (#15983762)
Given that prop trading has been severely curtailed at investment banks, yes.
Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by qaq on Thursday December 21, 2017 @08:09PM (#15984473)
JPM makes about 1/5th of profit from "trading" and of that I seriously doubt market making is much of a contributor.
Re:Goldman Sachs Is Setting Up a Cryptocurrency Trading Desk by zjaffee on Thursday December 21, 2017 @07:01PM (#15984048)
Not just curtailed, they aren't allowed to participate in prop trading at all as per the dodd frank legislation.