Yahoo Finance Dogecoin: Goldman Sachs executive reportedly quits after making fortune from cryptocurrency
An executive with Goldman Sachs London has reportedly quit his role with the bank after making millions from Dogecoin.
Aziz McMahon, a managing director and head of emerging market sales at Goldman Sachs, reportedly resigned from the company after making money from his investment in Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency that was started after an internet meme and has risen in value by 72 times between the start of January and late last week.
While the bank has confirmed McMahon’s departure from the company, it hasn’t yet confirmed the reason.
Efinancialcareers reported that he quit after making millions from the digital currency, and may be starting a hedge fund.
Championed by billionaire Elon Musk, who calls himself the “Dogefather,” the cryptocurrency’s value has risen significantly since the beginning of this year, peaking at USD 0.6873 on 6 May before the Tesla chief executive’s Saturday Night Live appearance.
However, following Musk’s SNL debut on 8 May, where he jokingly called Dogecoin a “hustle”, the coin’s value dropped by about 30 per cent.
While it has since recovered, the cryptocurrency is still 32 per cent below its highs. But compared to the start of 2021, it is still up by over 1000 per cent.
Considering this recent dip in Dogecoin values, McMahon likely made most of his fortunes from the digital currency before the Tesla chief’s SNL debut, Fortune reported.
The cryptocurrency’s value is expected to continue to change further with new digital coins programmed to be issued online every minute.
Pushes from people like Musk, American restaurateur Guy Fieri, and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, continue to impact its value.
Musk said on Tuesday that Tesla is considering accepting payments in Dogecoin, and had also announced SpaceX’s “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon,” for next year with his commercial rocket company set to accept payment in the crypto currency.
Shark Tank star Cuban’s NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, has also been accepting cryptocurrency for payments.
Do you want Tesla to accept Doge?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2021
Others in the financial sector have also tilted towards cryptocurrencies in the recent years.
Luyi Zhang, a former senior quantitative analyst at Bank of America in New York, started working at Coinbase as a senior software engineer, and Jesse Bornstein, who launched Nomura’s trade finance business in New York, also reportedly quit to become VP of institutional sales at Stakehound, a company that issues tokens allowing owners access to decentralized finance.
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