Less than a week after Nasdaq showed interest in trading cryptocurrencies, another US financial giant is stepping up its support of the booming cryptocurrency market. According to the New York Times, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is taking steps to become the first Wall Street bank to open a Bitcoin trading operation.
The exact launch date of the new trading operation is not yet set, but it is confirmed that the bank’s board of directors signed off on the initiative. Goldman will “create its own, more flexible version of a future, known as a non-deliverable forward, which it will offer to clients,” according to the report.
Goldman executive Rana Yared stated that the Bitcoin operation is a result of the increasing number of queries from customers indicating interest in holding Bitcoin as an alternate store of value.
The investment bank has hired its first “digital asset” dealer, Justin Schmidt, to handle daily operations. Schmidt previously worked as a trader at hedge fund Seven Eight Capital, before leaving last year to trade cryptocurrencies on his own.
The news reflects the expanding participation of Goldman in the crypto-market. CEO Lloyd Blankfein has also expressed interest in more direct Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, if the bank can secure regulatory approval from government agencies.
According to Yared, Goldman officials have taken a cautious approach throughout the process. “For almost every person involved, there has been personal skepticism brought to the table,” Yared said. “It is not a new risk that we don’t understand. It is just a heightened risk that we need to be extra aware of here.”
Now that cryptocurrency and Bitcoin exchanges such as Binance are more profitable than some of the world’s leading banks, this is likely the first of many similar pieces of news to come.
