Traditional financial firms like Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and JPMorgan have taken only baby steps into the realm of digital assets. But the pace of their strides is picking up.
The suits are coming.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesAnna Irrera
Michael P. Regan
The old tech mantra of “move fast and break things” had long been one of the guiding principles of the cryptocurrency movement. The only problem: Too many things broke, leaving a string of high-profile bankruptcies and criminal prosecutions in its wake.
Yet many of the torches lit in the “move fast” phase are now being carried, albeit at a slower pace, by an unlikely group: the same traditional financial firms that crypto was hoping to disrupt. While none of it is as intoxicating as the old “Dogecoin to the moon” days, blockchain innovations are increasingly being appropriated and refined for the more boring — but very important — task of streamlining parts of Wall Street’s plumbing. Frequent attendees at crypto conferences have even noticed a sartorial shift: Fewer hoodies, more suits and ties.
