Lack of Regulations Keeping the Big Institutional Investors from Entering into Crypto Industry

The institutional investors seem to be divided over entering the cryptocurrency space as Dow Jones and Barclays rule out any possibility to enter into crypto industry, for now, due to the lack of regulations, while Goldman takes an eager step in.

“We’re not going to tarnish our reputation” Dow Jones CEO

The popular S&P Dow Jones Indices has come forward and made it clear that they are not going to introduce cryptocurrency indexes, for now. S&P has been receiving a lot of requests from their customers to build a platform that allows them to track the cryptocurrencies, but the index provider has no plans to offer any such solution for the time being at least.

The chief executive officer of the index provider, Alex Matturri stated in his interview to Bloomberg that “Not right now. But it’s prudent for us to take a wait-and-see approach.”

Despite receiving regular request from their customers they are not interested: “We have a reputation, we’ve been around a lot of years and we’re not going to tarnish our reputation over just creating a new product idea,” He further added that “clearly there is a demand — that’s something worthwhile to keep an eye on.”

Matturi mentioned that the US’s SEC’s approach towards these digital assets is the main concern for them as explained by him:

“You don’t want an index that somebody is going to use in a product that either manipulates markets or is easily manipulated. If it’s meant as a tool for gambling, well, go to Macao or Las Vegas. That’s not what investing is about.”

Though just like the countries around that world that doesn’t like cryptocurrencies but are favorable to the blockchain, Matturi shares the same sentiments as stated by him: “It’s still got a ways to go before it’s kind of in the mainstream, more legitimized. But it could happen quickly. Technology is much more disruptive today than it ever was.”

Also, read: Nasdaq Considers Becoming A Crypto Exchange, A Wake Up Call To Crypto Giants

Barclays dismisses the idea of crypto trading desk for now

Recently, Barclays also dismissed the chance of entering the crypto industry as of yet. The Chief Executive of Barclays, Jes Staley made it clear that they are not planning to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk anytime soon though he did confirm that they were indeed exploring the cryptocurrencies’ potential impact on the financial sector.

The top executive of British Investment Bank also mentioned that the regulatory and compliance issues surrounding the cryptocurrencies surely keeps him skeptical of them:

“Cryptocurrency is a real challenge for us because, on the one hand, there is the innovative side of it and wanting to stay in the forefront of technology’s improvement in finance… On the other side of it, there is the possibility of cryptocurrencies being used for activities that the bank wants to have no part of.”

Prior to the confirmation, Barclay has been rumored to be considering moving into the crypto industry by introducing their own crypto trading desks for their clients.

Well, looks like the institutional investors are divided over moving into the crypto space. At one side Barclays and Dow Jones are really into it, for the time being, on the other hand, big players like Goldman Sachs are actively seeking in this industry.

Who do you think will be the next major player in the mainstream industry will be entering or dismissing the idea of cryptocurrencies?