Goldman Sachs Is Hiring a New VP of Digital Assets

Published at: Aug. 19, 2020

Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is hiring a new vice president in the Digital Assets team within its Global Markets Division in London.

According to a recent job posting on the investment firm’s website, the new VP will work with the Digital Assets team in “defining and executing Goldman Sachs’ distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain efforts firmwide, including any potential initiatives in the cryptocurrency space.” The role requires that any applicants be able to identify opportunities where blockchain and DLT digital assets can add value.

The current global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs is Mathew McDermott, who assumed the role on Aug. 6.

Changing direction on crypto

The recent addition of McDermott and the call for fresh blood indicates Goldman Sachs is taking a more proactive approach to crypto assets in uncertain economic times.

McDermott said in a Aug. 6 interview with CNBC that the firm is “exploring the commercial viability of creating a fiat digital token,” purportedly a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

“In the next five to 10 years, you could see a financial system where all assets and liabilities are native to a blockchain, with all transactions natively happening on chain."

The strengthening of the digital assets team comes after an investors’ call in May, in which Goldman Sachs analysts argued that Bitcoin (BTC) lacked legitimacy, provided no cash flow, didn’t provide diversification and hadn't shown any evidence of being an inflation hedge.

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