Goldman Sachs expected to jump in Crypto trading next week!

This news arrives at a time of much noise on Bitcoin specifically which recently hit all-time highs

Reuters have reported that Goldman Sachs is in process to setup a crypto trading desk that will launch next week. Their desk team will be situated within Goldman’s U.S. bank’s Global Markets division as part of activities within the digital assets sector, including projects involving blockchain technology and central bank digital currencies. As part of this venture, the bank is also exploring the potential for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETFs) and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody.

Background

In 2017 it was widely reported that Goldman was launching a crypto trading desk by June 2018. The move was said to be in response to client interest. Getting to the spring of 2018, Goldman even went public with this intent to offer crypto trading. However, come fall of 2018, Goldman turned around and shelved its crypto trading desk as they revisited digital assets, just stating “we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”

However, quite recently, Goldman Sachs, ICAP, JPMorgan, and UBS have bought the first exchange-traded product (ETP) that offers exposure to Polkadot’s DOT cryptocurrency for clients

Implications

While Goldman Sachs entering crypto trading desk is not that big of news in itself as they are just supplying a service that is in demand but it is another stamp of approval from the traditional financial services sector in favor of the crypto economy and assets. More corporates are purchasing Bitcoin with Tesla grabbing headlining following $1.5 billion purchase of BTC. Two Bitcoin exchange-traded funds began trading in Canada last month, with the Purpose Bitcoin ETF selling almost $400 million in shares in its first two days.

Trading cash-settled futures means that Goldman Sachs would not have to take custody of the underlying digital assets directly. Those types of contracts allow two parties to wager on Bitcoin's price at a specified point in the future without exchanging the cryptocurrency itself.