
Goldman CEO on Bitcoin: “A Vehicle to Perpetrate Fraud” - mgalka
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-30/blankfein-says-too-soon-for-bitcoin-strategy-as-volatility-jumps
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justboxing
"A Vehicle to Perpetrate Fraud"... says the guy whose organization has
perpetrated wide-spread fraud at the Board level, and gotten away with _most
of it_ with just a congressional hearing and a fine.

"There was little ambiguity about the criminality of Rajaratnam’s intentions.
In one tape played at trial, he called a contact and said, “I heard yesterday
from somebody who’s on the board of Goldman Sachs that they are going to lose
two dollars per share.” Rajaratnam quickly traded his shares, avoiding major
losses, thanks to this inside information. Convicted in 2011, he was sentenced
to eleven years in prison, and given a ten-million-dollar fine, along with an
order to forfeit more than fifty-three million in gains. (Gupta, who was also
a board member at Goldman, was later convicted of insider trading as well.)"

Source: 2016 : The Man Who Terrifies Wall Street:
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/09/the-man-who-
te...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/09/the-man-who-terrifies-
wall-street)

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harryVic
Goldman Ceo should be the last person to call something fraud

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c0nducktr
Well if someone knows fraud, it would probably be the Goldman CEO lol

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username223
> ... captivates everyone from mom-and-pop investors to high-frequency traders
> and Wall Street banks.

If this isn't a recipe for financial disaster, I don't know what is. When dumb
money, fast money, and smart money are all feeding off the same carcass,
things will get ugly.

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someguydave
He's attempting to jawbone down the price so that Goldman can buy.

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jordanb
So I'm guessing that Goldman is all in on Bitcoin then?

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IncRnd
It's arguably more likely that a few traders there are planning on pumping
Bitcoin until it goes on the exchanges soon. Then, they'll take a short future
position and remove their support.

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Just1689
This is a popular theory in many of the cryptocurrency Discord servers

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reefoctopus
You could say the same thing about Goldman Sachs.

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thisisit
People do know CEO or employee's opinions doesn't really represent company's
views, right?

Because here's what happened: "Goldman Says the Bitcoin Haters Just Don’t Get
It"

[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/goldman-s...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/goldman-
s-currie-says-bitcoin-is-a-commodity-much-like-gold)

~~~
lucozade
When the CEO is making a public statement, as the CEO, then they most
definitely are representing the view of the company.

An employee may or may not be depending on their role and the circumstances.
For example, if they are the company's press officer then they will be
representing the company's view.

Your link is regarding the view of an analyst who works at Goldman's. Because
of the nature of their role, they can and do make statements that are not
company policy nor strategy.

As such, of the two, Blankfein's statements will better reflect the official
position of Goldman.

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vadimberman
Sounds like an endorsement.

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thrill
Yeah, let's not talk about that $10 billion fraudulent bailout.

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partycoder
Former Microsoft CEO on Linux: "Linux is cancer"

Microsoft CEO on Linux: "Microsoft loves Linux"

Just give him time.

Then, Goldman Sachs should not be pontificating about fraud. Remember 2008?

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RachelF
Goldman is probably secretly buying bitcoin while trying to keep the price
down so they don't have to pay too much for it.

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sterlind
very likely. a company like Goldman can make more money manipulating the BTC
market, versus simply buying coin as an investment, which would spike the
exchange rate up and reveal them.

Goldman already has a cryptocurrency patent portfolio and top-notch lobbyists
in Washington. I wonder what they're using both for.

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thatgerhard
If my scummy business model was threatened like this I would probably also
call the replacement “A Vehicle to Perpetrate Fraud”

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lucozade
How is Bitcoin replacing Goldman? They're an investment bank.

If anything, it'll be net positive for Goldman if Bitcoin settles down as a
sensible investment vehicle as they can then make fees flogging it.

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thewhitetulip
When we do it then it is fine, if others do it then OMG competitors!! /s

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gt_
01:45 - “In fact, the Bloomberg system is a blockchain”

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CodeWriter23
I don’t see the word “Fraud” in the entire article.

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TaylorGood
Fiat currency is no different.

