Rumors about Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) exiting its support for the Apple Card have been circulating for quite some time. The Apple Card played a significant role in Goldman’s failed expansion into consumer Fintech. While the thesis that Goldman’s vast expertise in global markets would play well with the mass affluent by leveraging tech made sense, the execution of the strategy struggled from the beginning. Goldman eventually initiated a full-scale retreat to focus on its wheelhouse operations.Today, according ...

Industry Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is maintained at "Outperform" [1] Core Insights - The report discusses the deep impact of stablecoins on the financial system, including effects on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, commercial banks, and financial infrastructure [4][6] - It highlights the potential for stablecoins to disrupt traditional banking and payment systems while also presenting new opportunities for financial IT service providers and blockchain companies [6] Summary by Sections 1. Impact of Stablecoins on the Financial System - Stablecoins act as a stable digital representation of value, potentially influencing monetary control systems without directly affecting them [13] - The Federal Reserve may face indirect impacts on its balance sheet due to changes in demand for government bonds and bank deposits caused by stablecoin transactions [14] - Stablecoins can challenge existing monetary policy tools by increasing liquidity fluctuations and affecting short-term interest rates [22][23] 2. Comparison of Stablecoin Development in China and the U.S. - The report contrasts the motivations behind stablecoin development in the U.S. and China, emphasizing the need for regulatory frameworks to adapt to the evolving landscape [10] 3. Investment Recommendations - The report suggests that while stablecoin trading is illegal in mainland China, there are growth opportunities for financial IT service providers and payment solution companies [6] - It recommends focusing on banks and investment banks that are exploring virtual asset trading and innovative business models [6] 4. Effects on Commercial Banks - Stablecoins may lead to a disintermediation effect, impacting the balance sheets of commercial banks by shifting deposits to custodial accounts [36] - The report notes that banks may need to adjust their liquidity and interest rate risk management strategies in response to the rise of stablecoins [40] 5. Impact on Financial Infrastructure - Stablecoins can enhance payment efficiency by enabling real-time transactions and reducing costs, particularly in cross-border payments [42] - The competition from stablecoins may drive traditional payment systems to adopt distributed ledger technology to improve their services [42]

Group 1 - The core viewpoint is that the application scenarios of stablecoins have expanded from cryptocurrency trading to multiple fields since the inception of USDT in 2014 [1] - Stablecoins have developed through several stages, including the launch of JPMCoin by JPMorgan in 2019 for institutional cross-border trade settlements, and the explosion of DeFi and the introduction of PayPalUSD in 2020 [1] - Currently, stablecoins have formed four main application scenarios: cryptocurrency trading, cross-border payments, consumer payments, and traditional capital markets [1] Group 2 - The future market size of stablecoins is expected to reach $3.5 trillion, based on neutral scenario calculations across four major scenarios [2] - In the cryptocurrency sector, with a 10% growth rate in the cryptocurrency market, stablecoins are projected to reach $36.33 billion by 2030, accounting for 8.22% of the market [2] - In cross-border payments, assuming stablecoins capture 20% of the market share, the demand will reach $29 trillion; for daily consumer payments, a 10% share would result in a demand of $12.16 billion; and for traditional capital markets, the demand for tokenization of assets is estimated at $13.33 billion [2]