Goldman Sachs is Also Sweating on Cryptocurrencies as a ‘Business Risk’
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Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein might say that the investment banking giant does not have a “bitcoin strategy,” but the company is now admitting that cryptocurrencies pose a business risk to the firm.
Goldman Sachs Lists Cryptocurrencies as Business Risk
The firm made this disclosure in a dated Feb. 26 and filed with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), explaining that its investments in blockchain- and cryptocurrency-associated startups — as well as its decision to facilitate bitcoin futures trading for its brokerage clients — could adversely affect Goldman Sachs if weaknesses are found in the underlying blockchain protocols.
From the filing:
“We may be, or may become, exposed to risks related to distributed ledger technology through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products linked to distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain or cryptocurrencies, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, and the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearing houses and other financial intermediaries.”
Indeed, despite Blankfein’s sometimes-hostile comments on bitcoin, the firm has quietly built a portfolio that includes startups operating in the blockchain space.
Circle, to which it provided early-stage funding, operates a and recently announced that it had , one of the larger cryptocurrency exchanges.
Banks Feel the Crypto Heat
As CCN , Bank of America admitted in a Feb. 22 filing that potential mass adoption of cryptocurrencies presents the institution — second-largest in the US as measured by total assets — with a number of risk vectors.
While Goldman’s concerns about cryptocurrency stem primarily from its ownership stakes in blockchain startups, other institutions — most notably Bank of America — view the nascent asset class as a more fundamental threat to their business models.
Some of these risks are operational, such as the fact that the bank may have to upgrade its anti-money laundering system to better account for cryptocurrency usage.
However, others, are more foundational. The bank said, for instance, that the firm would likely need to make “substantial expenditures” to update and expand its existing products and services to remain competitive with fintech startups, some of whom are leveraging blockchain technology to disrupt the banking sector. Moreover, the firm admitted that, due to its on cryptocurrency purchases, the bank risks losing customers to companies that more readily embrace them.
Recent Uploads tagged bitcoin All Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Japan Will Have To Agree To Five New Criteria vipcryptosignalscom posted a photo: The Japanese monetary regulator has imposed five new standards for all cryptocurrency exchanges working […]
3Commas is a suite of “smart tools” to help cryptocurrency investors minimize risks, limit losses, grow profits, and manage their portfolios across multiple exchanges.
Saint Petersburg, Russia-based offers experienced and beginning traders alike a suite of “smart tools” designed to help them manage their portfolios across multiple cryptocurrency exchanges while maximizing profits and limiting losses.
Before test-driving the platform, Bitcoinist sat down with 3Commas CMO Mike Goryunov to talk about what prompted the team to develop the platform in the first place:
It’s kind of a funny story because we originally built this platform for our own use only. When we showed our project to friends in the crypto community, we saw a big need for the kinds of tools 3commas has and so we decided to open the project to everyone.
3Commas opened to the public in September 2017 and, primarily through word of mouth, has grown to over 5000 active traders and an average daily trade volume of over $5 million USD.
Tools and Features
The first thing that caught our attention about 3Commas was the clean, uncluttered interface. The platform offers a simple, logical user experience whether you are accessing it via a desktop computer or mobile device. Russian and English language options are available, as well, with additional languages in the works.
Cryptocurrency exchange integrations
3Commas integrates with Poloniex, Bittrex, Bitfinex, Binance, and any Ethereum wallet and the process of hooking up your exchange account to the platform is fast and simple thanks to easy-to-follow illustrated documentation. Additional exchanges will be added throughout the coming year.
To minimize risk and to encourage smart trading habits, 3Commas has implemented two tools that every trader should learn to take advantage of – Trailing Stop Loss and Trailing Take Profit.
Trailing Stop Loss
A Trailing Stop Loss order is identical to a standard Stop Loss order in all respects except one. Both let you minimize your losses in the event of a price drop, but unlike a Stop Loss order that is set manually at a fixed price threshold, a Trailing Stop Loss order is percentage-based and automatically adjusts to price fluctuations.
For example, let’s say you purchase 10 ETH at $675 each and to minimize any potential losses, you set a Stop Loss order of 10%. This means that if the price of ETH drops below $607.50, the stop loss order will automatically execute, selling your ETH at that price.
But what if the price of ETH goes *up* during the day? A standard Stop Loss order will still only execute when the price drops below 10% of the original buy-in price. A Trailing Stop Loss order, however, automatically adjusts to the price change. So if the price of ETH goes up by 15%, the Trailing Stop Loss order would trigger when the adjusted price drops by 10%, netting you a 5% gain.
Trailing Take Profit
Just like how the Trailing Stop Loss tool is designed to minimize losses, the Trailing Take Profit tool is designed to maximize gains. Using our Ethereum example from above, let’s say you buy 10 ETH at $675 each and set a standard Take Profit order at $700. This means that you would make a profit of $25 per ETH.
But what if ETH goes higher than $700? You’ve just lost additional potential profit. A Trailing Take Profit order lets you sell at the highest part of a trend by selling at a percentage of the highest value. So if you set a Trailing Take Profit order of 10% and ETH climbs to $800 and then falls, the sell order would take effect when the price falls below $720 ($800 – 10% = $720), netting you a profit of $45 per ETH.
Custom Portfolios
3Commas Portfolios tool is a unique feature that not only lets users track their actual portfolio’s performance over time, but also lets them create custom “dream portfolios” of tokens and coins that they think could be profitable. These custom portfolios are publicly available to other users who can analyze them and even add them to their own actual portfolio.
The Road Ahead
2018 looks to be a very busy year for 3Commas. Several new trading tools will be added, including social trading and arbitrage trading. Social trading, which we are told will be rolled out sometime in February 2018, lets users ‘follow’ their favorite traders and copy their trades.
Arbitrage trading will allow users to take advantage of price differences between one exchange and another. Essentially, traders will be able to buy low on one exchange and sell high on another. True crypto arbitrage trading capabilities are few and far between, so the launch of this tool, in particular, should be of great interest to the crypto community.
For more information about 3Commas, or to try it out for yourself, visit .
Ringing in the New Year with a 50% Bonus
In true holiday spirit, and to usher in the new year in grand style, 3Commas are giving users a 50% bonus on all deposits from December 31, 2017, through January 3, 2018. No promo code is needed. Just sign up at (or sign in if you’re already a registered user) and make your deposits. Bonuses will be credited automatically.
Have you tried 3Commas yet? Which of their trading and portfolio management tools do you find to be the most useful? Let us know in the comments below.
