Eric Katz's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 28, 2018

Are Banks Losing Big by Ignoring Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency’s ongoing relationship with traditional banks can be referred to as “lukewarm at best”. But it shouldn’t be that way according to Daniel Masters, who thinks that banks are foregoing an enormous opportunity to innovate. Masters, a former top trader at J.P. Morgan, has criticized banks for “[having] absolutely failed to innovate in any way, shape or form,” in reference to banks’ slow adoption of cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology.

Masters, who ran J.P. Morgan’s New York energy trading business in the 1990s before leaving to establish his own commodities fund, pivoted his firm’s focus to digital currencies in 2014. In a recent interview with Business Insider, Masters touted the “true revolution” that he believes cryptocurrency represents as an example of “trench warfare” between “analog financial service companies and digital financial services companies”.  

Traditional banks have typically characterized cryptocurrency as a type of scam. High-profile detractors abound – since the beginning of 2018, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and European Central Bank executive board member Yves Mersch have described it as a Ponzi scheme. Bank of Settlements general manager, Augustin Carstens, went a step further calling it a “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme, and an environmental disaster” while lecturing at Frankfurt University. Charlie Munger, the 94-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has referred to bitcoin as a “noxious poison”, and J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon called it a fraud (though he later apologized for his comments, and the company’s attitude seems to be warming as evidenced by a recent J.P. Morgan research report on cryptocurrency).

 

 

Masters believes that cryptocurrency’s foundational principle of decentralization, coupled with its removal of middlemen, is threatening to legacy bankers. Regulations have created too much friction to previously facilitate innovation, and they are now paying the price. "Banks have sat on their laurels for 30 years,” Masters said. “I just threw out my checkbook, it looks exactly the same as it did in 1985. Why should I still have it when I'm doing Uber instead of cabs, Airbnb instead of the Sheraton?”

Despite traditional financial institutions’ collective misgivings, as well as a rough start to 2018, bitcoin’s 1,500% rise in value in 2017 has forced financial service providers to take notice. Exchange operators Cboe and CME have begun offering bitcoin futures trading, and Goldman Sachs indicated on a recent earnings call that they are considering opening bitcoin trading desks. Meanwhile, Global Advisors, which owns a 75 percent stake in fellow fund Coinshares, announced in January that they collectively manage more than $1 billion in assets – numbers that would have seemed outrageous in the recent past.

Masters thinks 2017’s gains represent a well-earned victory for the first-wave of cryptocurrency investors, who weathered significant ups and downs as the market found its footing. He characterized the landscape as “the fog of war”: “You might be able to see the few people around you, you can see the hill over there, but very few people can see the whole landscape. We're in a very fortunate position because we touch so many different parts of it. For us, it is abundantly clear that we are in the midst of a true financial revolution." Traditional banks would be wise to get a piece of action should he prove to be correct.

Interested in learning more about cryptocurrency, and perhaps even investing in it? Tickeron.com has educational resources you can tap to learn more, and has also developed Artificial Intelligence to track patterns in the cryptocurrency markets. Learn more and get started today.

Related Tickers: BTC.X
John Jacques's Avatar
published in Blogs
May 16, 2022
A.I. Stock Market Predictions: Head & Shoulders

A.I. Stock Market Predictions: Head & Shoulders

Statistics for the Head-and-Shoulders Bottom Pattern The days where only hedge funds used algorithms to trade stocks are officially over. Now retail investors can use Artificial Intelligence (A.I.  Here’s an example of the algorithm in action: Late last year, Tickeron’s A.I.
Edward Flores's Avatar
published in Blogs
Apr 29, 2022
How to Become the Millionaire Next Door

How to Become the Millionaire Next Door

The Golden Gate Bridge is always a fixture of these walks too, one of man's most beautiful creations.  As we were walking, at one point she turned to me and said, "Man, I'll never have a million dollars."" My girlfriend is 27 years old and works as a graphic designer, making about $75,000 a year.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
May 16, 2022
When Is the Next Recession Coming?

When Is the Next Recession Coming?

However, we also know that economists predicted 22 recessions out of 11 that took place since 1945. Are there real recession signs we should watch for?Indeed, the answer is yes, and here are a few very important ones: The first one is almost obvious and known to everyone – it is the Fed.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 14, 2023
How to Start Trading Penny Stocks

How to Start Trading Penny Stocks

Penny stocks have long been marginalized within the professional investment community, oftentimes being painted with a broad brush of simply being “too risky.” Leonardo DiCaprio’s depiction of the penny stock peddling conman, Jordan Belfort, in the Wolf of Wall Street certainly didn’t help.Here are four reasons to start trading them now. Reason #1: Let’s State the Obvious -- Penny Stocks are Cheap A single share of Apple Inc. costs over $350.
Dmitry Perepelkin's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 14, 2023
5 Habits that Lead to Successful Investing

5 Habits that Lead to Successful Investing

To consistently make money in this industry, you need emotional fortitude, an analytical mind, and a willingness to self-reflect. Despite trading and investing being two different activities, these principles can be applied to both.Conversely, investors with good habits often become great traders.  Rather than full sentences for titles, we’ve labeled each of our top-five investing habits using a single word principle.
Allana's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 23, 2023
What’s the Difference Between Data Analytics and Machine Learning?

What’s the Difference Between Data Analytics and Machine Learning?

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is developing rapidly.Data mining can deliver raw numbers, but it does not necessarily provide actionable insights. Structure is necessary to taking abstract information and extracting commonalities, like averages, ratios, and percentages.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 13, 2023
4 Tips for Fast, Effective Stock Analysis

4 Tips for Fast, Effective Stock Analysis

With just a few clicks, an investor can search for individual stocks, categories of stocks, sectors, or investment themes, and then he or she can conduct a full range of technical and fundamental analysis within seconds.All powered by Artificial Intelligence.  Below, we give you 5 tips for fast, effective stock analysis using Tickeron’s Screener.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 20, 2023
5 Golden Principles in Investing

5 Golden Principles in Investing

You have enough faith in that stock, based on research, that the return will equal or exceed the investment.  Do unto others.The principles outlined here will ensure that happens.  Principle #1: Diversification Investors can’t be one-dimensional when constructing a portfolio.
John Jacques's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 24, 2023
If Hedge Funds are Using AI to Invest, Why Shouldn’t You?

If Hedge Funds are Using AI to Invest, Why Shouldn’t You?

Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions have devoted multi-million dollar budgets to developing algorithms that can find patterns in the market, identify trends, and perform automated trading designed to take advantage of even the smallest price movements. The AI revolution is so big that as it stands today, the world’s five biggest hedge funds all use systems-based approaches to trade financial markets.Indeed, quantitative trading hedge funds now manage $918 billion (according to HFR), which amounts to 30% of the $3 trillion hedge fund industry – a percentage continues to grow with each year that passes.
Sergey Savastiouk's Avatar
published in Blogs
Mar 15, 2023
The five most important Lessons Learned After 10,000 hours of Trading

The five most important Lessons Learned After 10,000 hours of Trading

Ten thousand hours of active trading, broken down into forty-hour weeks, amounts to almost five years. Having surpassed that milestone myself, I now understand why it's significant for any trader's journey. The early years taught me valuable lessons that have shaped my approach to trading. It's a misconception that great traders are born with innate talent. The truth is that it takes years of...