Goldman Sachs survey reveals almost 50% of family office clients want to get into crypto

• Family offices are interested in digital assets, as revealed in a recent survey by Goldman Sachs. 
• Nearly half of the respondents have shown interest in cryptocurrencies.
• 15% of family offices that work with Goldman Sachs have already invested in the new asset class.

A recent Goldman Sachs survey revealed that nearly 50% of the firm’s family office clients are interested in cryptocurrencies. 

Family offices to target cryptocurrencies

A survey by Goldman Sachs polled over 150 family offices that work with the investment banking giant. It found that over 15% of participants have already invested in the new asset class. 22% of the surveyed family offices had over $5 billion under management, while 45% had between $1 billion to $4.9 billion AUM. 

In addition to the existing respondents that have delved into crypto, another 45% have shown interest in digital assets, citing that the new asset class could hedge against “higher inflation.” Many family offices agree that cryptocurrencies could be a safe haven asset, especially following a year of unprecedented global monetary and fiscal stimulus. 

According to the report by Bloomberg, although family offices can be secretive with their investments, they could be slowly turning to digital assets like Bitcoin to counter inflation. 

Most of the investors have been involved in private equity and real estate. The survey suggested that there has been growing interest in investing in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Goldman Sachs private wealth management lead Meena Flynn said that a majority of family offices have requested to speak with the investment bank about blockchain and digital ledger technology. 

Many family offices believe that blockchain could be as “impactful as the internet has been” from an efficiency and productivity point of view. 

On the flip side, many family offices have been cautious in stepping into crypto, stating that they had underlying concerns regarding the long-term value of digital assets. Bitcoin has tumbled since its all-time high a few months ago and has since lost over half of its value. 

Institutional crypto investment products witnessed a quiet week

Cryptocurrency investment products witnessed another quiet week with minimal net inflows as the market continued to move sideways. Bitcoin product volume fell to 38% of the year-to-date average, seeing new outflows over the past two weeks totaling $10.4 million. 

According to a report by CoinShares, the dip in volume could be due to seasonal trends, as volumes during the summer usually subside. 

Bitcoin-related product outflows were minimal last week compared to the significant outflows when institutional investors continued to take profit during May and June. 

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