Goldman Sachs Says BTC Is Already the Asset of the Year

Bitcoin has support from one of Wall Street’s biggest players. Recently, financial giant Goldman Sachs issued a new report claiming that BTC is one of the best performing assets of the year thus far, and it has big hopes and plans for the world’s number one digital currency by market cap.

Goldman Sachs Is Enthusiastic About BTC

Bitcoin experienced its most bearish year in 2022. The asset fell by more than 70 percent from its all-time high of $68,000 per unit (which it achieved in November of 2021) and it dropped into the mid-$16K range by the time the year was out. It was a sad and ugly sight to watch.

However, things didn’t quite stop there. The crypto space was marred by several assets following in BTC’s footsteps. The volatility and speculation that struck BTC hit many leading assets, causing the industry to fall apart and lose more than $2 trillion in overall valuation. There were also many other problems including bankruptcies and exchange fraud that caused several individuals to view crypto in a rather twisted light.

But then, something strange happened. 2023 opened with some positive weeks that saw bitcoin rise by more than $7,000. The currency is presently trading for around $23,000, and everyone is on the verge of believing that perhaps this year could be very different for those invested in BTC.

Among these bullish figures is Goldman Sachs, who says bitcoin has outperformed both gold and stocks thus far in the year 2023. The document says the currency has incurred a 27 percent price gain since the end of 2022, which is huge compared to the five percent seen by gold. In addition, trading platforms like the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have only risen by three and two percent since the start of 2023, respectively.

While Goldman Sachs and many other financial players and analysts are rather quick to assume that the crypto winter is over and that BTC is returning to form, others are more skeptical. Joe DiPasquale – the chief executive of crypto hedge fund Bit Bull Capital – recently commented that it would be a mistake to assume bitcoin is suddenly coming back, and that the last few weeks could all be part of corrective behavior rather than a rally.

Don’t Get Too Excited… Yet

In an interview, he mentioned:

Typically, the first quarter has bullish associations, and after a long consolidation period that saw shorts accumulating, the market has risen, partially fueled by the short squeeze… We wouldn’t be surprised to see bitcoin testing $20,000 in the coming days. For the week ahead, market participants should be mindful of downside risks and potentially seek to take profits.

The cryptocurrency fell in 2022 largely due to ongoing rate hikes imposed by the Fed that were slated to fight inflation.

Tags: bitcoin, Gold, Goldman Sachs