Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s global head of investment research has made a daunting projection regarding cryptocurrencies: the recent downturn in market value could get worse.
In a report from the 5th February, Goldman’s Steve Strongin, expressed the view that many digital currencies are unlikely to survive. As a result, investors should be prepared for the coins to lose all of their value as they get outcompeted, reports Bloomberg.
Strongin added that:
The high correlation between the different cryptocurrencies worries me. Because of the lack of intrinsic value, the currencies that don’t survive will most likely trade to zero.
According to the investment research head, digital currencies are unlikely to last due to several factors: slow transaction times, high maintenance costs, and security issues.
He questioned:
Are any of today’s cryptocurrencies going to be an Amazon or a Google, or will they end up like many of the now-defunct search engines?
However, he said that even though market prices have gone down since the beginning of 2018 that’s not to say there won’t be a few survivors, adding that:
At the same time, it probably does mean that most, if not all, will never see their recent peaks again.
Strongin’s comments come at a time when the digital currency market has been experiencing a tough start to the year. At the end of 2017, bitcoin was within touching distance of $20,000 for the first time; however, it saw its market value drop to just above $6,000 yesterday amid increasing regulatory pressure from global authorities.
It has since regained and is currently trading at $8,300, at the time of publishing, according to CoinMarketCap. It’s thought that this boost in price is due to, what are perceived as, positive feelings from the U.S. Senate hearing earlier this week.
Notably, despite Strongin’s pessimistic views on where the cryptocurrency market is heading, others have full confidence in the growth of the market.
According to Thomas Glucksmann, head of APAC business development at cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, this year could see new highs for cryptocurrencies aided along by regulatory recognition, technological developments, and the entrance of institutional capital.
In an email to CNBC, Glucksmann said:
There is no reason why we couldn’t see bitcoin pushing $50,000 by December.