Goldman Sachs Exec Says More Institutional Investment Would Calm Bitcoin Volatility

An executive at multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs believes an increase in participation from institutional investors is "key" to stabilizing nascent markets such as cryptocurrencies.

Speaking on CNBC's The Coin Rush on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs' global head of commodities research, Jeff Currie, said the cryptocurrency market "is becoming more mature" but still has a way to go.

"Right now they're [institutional investors] small ... about $700 billion of money in bitcoin right now, of that roughly 1% of it is institutional money," said Currie.

Currie, who is the global head of commodities and research, also said bitcoin is a defensive asset similar to gold. He noted gold's $3 trillion market, saying some of that money could be allocated to cryptocurrency.

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"Right now all of the cryptocurrencies have about a trillion [dollars]. Let's say it grows to $2 trillion, then you just do the simple math – how many coins are out there divided by that – and you can end up with a fair value."

That valuation assessment could help provide a long-term equilibrium, but the in- and outflows of money in bitcoin create a lot of volatility and a lot of uncertainty that make it difficult to forecast, Currie said.