The world’s largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider BlackRock announced the formation of a working group to assess potential involvement in Bitcoin (BTC), Financial News (FN) reports today, July 16. The move furthers a U-turn on BlackRock’s previously critical stance towards cryptocurrency. Following in the footsteps of fellow giant Goldman Sachs, the cross-industry working group convened by BlackRock will among other things focus on whether the company should invest in Bitcoin futures, FN reports, citing “two people familiar with the matter.” In general comments to FN, a spokeswoman from BlackRock said the company had been “looking at blockchain for several years” …

This interview has been edited and condensed. Cointelegraph had the opportunity to speak to ConsenSys’ Ajit Tripathi at BlockShow Europe 2018 about his experience leaving Wall Street for the crypto world, what new ConsenSys projects he’s most excited about, and why crypto regulation changes from country to country. Molly Jane: Could you tell us a little bit more about what ConsenSys does and what your role is there? Ajit Tripathi: ConsenSys is a venture production studio based in Brooklyn, and now we have offices in London, in about 30 countries, including London, Paris, South Africa, Australia, and Singapore — we're …

This interview has been edited and condensed. Mike Butcher, an editor-at-large of TechCrunch is a pioneer of the tech and journalism industries. He has also started covering the crypto industry and blockchain technology, as — in his words — “that is effectively going to be a new way to the future.” He first heard about crypto back in 2011 and it was "Bitcoin that got [him] interested in the space." “I think it is sort of a general theme — decentralization. It is really fascinating, you know. We had Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, effectively build centralized networks for the …

Leading U.S. investment banking group Goldman Sachs is exploring cryptocurrency trading derivatives, Goldman Sachs Chief Operating Officer (COO) said in an interview with Bloomberg June 20. COO David Solomon stated that the company is already assisting clients in publicly-traded derivatives such as Bitcoin (BTC) futures, and that the company is “very cautiously” considering “some other activities” in the field. According to Solomon, the purpose of the company is to “evolve its business and adapt to the environment” with respect to cryptocurrencies. “We are clearing some futures around Bitcoin, talking about doing some other activities there, but it’s going very cautiously. …

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein reiterated his positive stance on cryptocurrencies in an interview with Bloomberg at the Economic Club of New York, June 19. When asked about the chances of crypto to become a “real issue,” Blankfein said that the adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) could happen similarly to how the adoption of paper money, which replaced gold and silver coins, has happened. Addressing the evolution of money, Blankfein pointed out the common features between paper money and crypto, apparently implying that they both do not have intrinsic value. Noting that paper money has managed to become the …

Update: this article has been updated to include statements made by Charley Cooper, managing director at R3. While last year R3 had implied that the company had a larger goal of raising $200 mln in funding, R3 told Fortune that the figure came from a now-cancelled plan to sell a stake in a research subsidiary. The unnamed former R3 employees told Fortune that the consortium’s internal financial targets are “10X short” of their revenue, with the figure described as “laughably off.” Charley Cooper, an R3 managing director, told Fortune that the company is not in danger of running out of …

Cloud-based supply chain company Tradeshift said it would push blockchain development with cash it received from its latest funding round Wednesday, May 30. The Series E round, which included Goldman Sachs among its major contributors, was worth $250 mln, bringing the total investment funding to over $400 mln. Identifying key areas for growth, Tradeshift noted both blockchain and artificial intelligence, which it will pursue via its Frontiers innovation lab which it launched in January this year. “We have always believed that the future of supply chains is 100 percent digital and that connecting trade is just the first step to …

Goldman Sachs-funded Circle Internet Financial Ltd. has launched a new feature for its crypto investment app Circle Invest that makes it easier for “newbies” to enter the market. The feature, dubbed “Buy the Market,” gives customers the option to invest in all listed coins at once, rather than having to decide between coins individually, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday, May 22. The app splits their investment – which can be as little as $1 – according to the coins’ market capitalization weightings. The seven supported coins in Circle Invest are Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic …

The owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is mulling letting customers buy and hold Bitcoin, The New York Times reported late Monday, May 7. The move would be the second Wall Street giant in a week to reportedly open up to crypto. As the New York Times reports, citing “emails and documents” as well as four anonymous sources, NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is planning to offer traders contracts that eventually result in customers owning the cryptocurrency. The news comes just days after the publication quoted a Goldman Sachs executive, who appeared to confirm the bank would debut …

Spencer Bogart, a partner at Blockchain Capital, said that other banks will follow Goldman Sachs’ example in opening a crypto trading desk, according to CNBC’s Fast Money today, May 4. Goldman Sachs reported yesterday that they would soon open a trading desk for Bitcoin (BTC) contracts after being “inundated” with client requests. Although Bogart told CNBC that the news is “definitely a big step,” he doesn’t think that it’s a “perfect solution, that all of a sudden now just opens the floodgates to the institutionalization of Bitcoin.” Bogart added that his reasoning that banks will follow Goldman Sachs is not …

Goldman Sachs has said Bitcoin “is not a fraud” as it unveiled plans to buy and sell cryptocurrency, the New York Times reported May 2. In a move which sets the investment banking giant apart from its Wall Street competitors, Goldman will initially offer various contracts with Bitcoin exposure before rumoredly entering the trading arena. Commenting on the decision, Rana Yared, an executive involved in creating the offerings, said the bank had been “inundated” with client requests. “It resonates with us when a client says, ‘I want to hold Bitcoin or Bitcoin futures because I think it is an alternate …

The crypto market is continuing to grow with only slight dips today, April 23, as Bitcoin (BTC) remains close to $9,000 after two weeks of gains and total market cap hits a 7-week high, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Crypto market visualization from coin360.io BTC is currently trading at around $8,840, down around 0.70 percent over a 24 hour period to press time, according to data from Cointelegraph’s BTC price index. Ethereum (ETH) is up around 0.10 percent over a 24 hour period to press time, trading at around $636, according to data from Cointelegraph’s ETH price index. Of the …