[cm2187]

I would keep in mind that about 12 years ago Goldman was piling in on CDOs and Subprimes before going short the very same asset classes a year later. The fact that there is money to be made immediately doesn't mean they believe in it long term.

[bhouston]

Goldman Sachs is getting in because it see a future in making profit from others trading in cryptocurrency. Goldman Sachs believes that the profit it will make from this exchange's trading fees will be greater than the cost of purchasing it. It is that simple.

[charlesdm]

Selling shovels pays off. But now they might have an incentive to cause more volatility, by moving the price up and down and thus scaring people.

[JumpCrisscross]

Exchanges are price-neutral volume plays. Better if you offboard customer service and custodian services to someone else. You make money on volume, and thus volatility, independent of price. (Similar to Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of a gasoline additive company a few years ago.)

[AlexCoventry]

Unregulated exchanges are money pumps, though.

[cm2187]

Agree, but for volumes to be meaningful, crypto currencies still need to be a thing.

[JumpCrisscross]

> for volumes to be meaningful, crypto currencies still need to be a thing

Not necessarily. Certainly not if you see theee accounts as a source of lead generation.