投入比特幣和其他加密貨幣的資金現(xiàn)已超過(guò)3650億美元，投資者幾乎全是個(gè)人，而非華爾街金融機(jī)構(gòu)。

不過(guò)，這種情況終于要有所改變了。本周，美國(guó)最大比特幣交易所Coinbase推出了面向機(jī)構(gòu)投資者的專業(yè)級(jí)新型交易產(chǎn)品，究其原因是精明的大客戶對(duì)加密貨幣的需求不斷上升。

Coinbase負(fù)責(zé)GDAX交易所等機(jī)構(gòu)業(yè)務(wù)的總經(jīng)理亞當(dāng)·懷特說(shuō)：“在機(jī)構(gòu)領(lǐng)域我們看到的是，想一馬當(dāng)先的非常少，大多數(shù)人都希望加入第二梯隊(duì)?！?

Coinbase發(fā)布上述消息前，華爾街主要投行已在本月早些時(shí)候開始準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)入加密貨幣市場(chǎng)。高盛（Goldman Sachs）5月初披露自己將成立比特幣交易部門，摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）本周表示，它“正在對(duì)這個(gè)領(lǐng)域進(jìn)行考察”，并任命了該公司歷史上首位加密資產(chǎn)策略主管來(lái)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)這項(xiàng)工作。

針對(duì)加密貨幣這個(gè)金融-科技交叉領(lǐng)域，《財(cái)富》雜志制作了周播節(jié)目《Balancing the Ledger》。懷特在最新一期節(jié)目中稱：“兩年后再回頭看高盛的表態(tài)，我們就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)他們開始交易加密貨幣的時(shí)間非常有可能是個(gè)分水嶺?！?

華爾街對(duì)投資加密貨幣猶豫不決的原因是對(duì)充斥這個(gè)行業(yè)的騙局感到擔(dān)心，同時(shí)也害怕安全問(wèn)題。許多世界上最知名的比特幣交易所都被黑過(guò)，其中就有現(xiàn)已聲名狼藉的Mt. Gox——該交易所創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄地被盜取了65萬(wàn)枚比特幣，現(xiàn)在這些比特幣的價(jià)值超過(guò)50億美元，但依然不知所蹤。就連自身系統(tǒng)從未被攻破過(guò)的Coinbase也一直是竊賊的目標(biāo)，大量賬戶曾遭受入侵并被洗劫，其中就包括一些著名投資人的賬戶。

懷特指出，正因如此，Coinbase推出了為大客戶安全托管加密貨幣的服務(wù)項(xiàng)目（最低存儲(chǔ)額為1000萬(wàn)美元）。他還說(shuō)，Coinbase目前存放著逾200億美元的數(shù)字貨幣，其中大多為個(gè)人投資者所有。但Coinbase認(rèn)為托管業(yè)務(wù)上線后這個(gè)數(shù)字有望猛增50%。

懷特表示：“我們估算，最有可能的情況是至少有100億美元機(jī)構(gòu)資金正在觀望之中，只要有安全的托管產(chǎn)品，他們就會(huì)采取行動(dòng)，而這還只是在加密貨幣領(lǐng)域?！?

他認(rèn)為，這些資金最初可能來(lái)自對(duì)沖基金和銀行，但養(yǎng)老金和主權(quán)財(cái)富基金最終也會(huì)加入進(jìn)來(lái)。在懷特看來(lái)，打造優(yōu)質(zhì)加密貨幣投資服務(wù)“將釋放數(shù)百億美元機(jī)構(gòu)資金。我們希望這些資金流到我們這里?！?

最新一輪融資后Coinbase的估值已達(dá)到16億美元。不過(guò)，盡管其業(yè)務(wù)目前以金融業(yè)為中心，但Coinbase的終極目標(biāo)要遠(yuǎn)大于投行或金融科技公司。懷特說(shuō)：“簡(jiǎn)而言之，我們希望成為加密貨幣界的谷歌?！?

對(duì)于比特幣價(jià)格以及來(lái)自華爾街的資金將如何提振市場(chǎng)，懷特表示自己是不可知論者，Coinbase賭的則是加密貨幣的長(zhǎng)期潛力：“要真正看清比特幣或以太坊等基礎(chǔ)性技術(shù)能帶來(lái)什么，這個(gè)領(lǐng)域中的所有人都需要把目光放到20或30年后?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Today, the more than $365 billion invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is owned almost entirely by individual investors—not by Wall Street institutions.

That’s finally about to change. Coinbase, the largest U.S. Bitcoin exchange, launched new professional-grade trading products for institutional investorsthis week, citing rising demand for cryptocurrency from smart money heavyweights.

“How we’ve seen it play out in the institutional space, very few want to be first, but most want to be second,” says Adam White, Coinbase’s general manager who runs its institutional business including the GDAX exchange.

Coinbase’s announcement follows moves by major Wall Street banks earlier this month towards entering the cryptocurrency market. Goldman Sachs revealed in early May that it is opening a Bitcoin trading desk, and JPMorgan Chase said this week that the bank is “l(fā)ooking into the space,” naming its first-ever head of crypto-assets strategy to lead those efforts.

“In a couple years we’re going to look at Goldman Sachs’ announcement that they’re going to begin trading cryptocurrency as very much a watershed moment,” White says on the latest episode of “Balancing the Ledger,” Fortune’sweekly show about the intersection of finance and technology, which you can watch above.

Wall Street’s hesitation to invest in cryptocurrency is rooted in concerns over scams that have plagued the industry and in fears about security. Many of the world’s most popular Bitcoin exchanges have been hacked, including the infamous Mt. Gox, from which a record-setting 650,000 Bitcoins—worth more than $5 billion today—were stolen and remain missing. Even Coinbase, whose own systems have never been breached, has been targeted by thieves who have hacked and drained scores of its customer accounts, including those of prominent investors.

That’s why Coinbase is rolling out a custody service to securely hold cryptocurrency on behalf of big investors (with a minimum deposit of $10 million), adds White. Coinbase currently stores more than $20 billion in digital currency, most of which belongs to retail investors, he says—but the company expects that amount could jump 50% once the custody product goes live.

“By our best estimates, there’s at least $10 billion in institutional capital that’s waiting on the sidelines just to move in for a safe custodianship product, just for cryptocurrency alone,” White says.

That money is likely to come from hedge funds and banks initially, but pension plans and sovereign wealth funds could eventually follow, he adds. The creation of premium cryptocurrency investment services “is going to unlock tens of billions of dollars of institutional capital,” White says. “We hope it comes through us.”

But while Coinbase’s business, valued at $1.6 billion during its most recent fundraising round, currently revolves around the financial industry, it ultimately aims to be much more than a bank or fintech company. “Very simply said, we want to be the Google of crypto,” says White.

Although he claims to be agnostic about the Bitcoin price and how the influx of Wall Street money could boost the market, Coinbase is betting on cryptocurrency’s long-term potential: “Anyone in the space needs to have a 20- or 30-year vision to really look at what a foundational technology like Bitcoin or Ethereum will provide.”