Many of Goldman Sachs’ largest clients are ramping up their activity in the crypto space following spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals and BTC price recovery. “The recent ETF approval has triggered a resurgence of interest and activities from our clients,” said Goldman Sachs’ Asia Pacific head of digital assets.
Goldman Sachs’ Clients Getting Active in Crypto
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has revealed that spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals and BTC price recovery have triggered renewed interest in crypto among its largest hedge fund clients.
Max Minton, Goldman’s Asia Pacific head of digital assets, shared in an interview with Bloomberg last week: “The recent ETF approval has triggered a resurgence of interest and activities from our clients.” He added:
Many of our largest clients are active or exploring getting active in the space.
“It was a quieter year last year, but we’ve seen a pickup in interest from clients in onboarding, pipeline, and volume since the start of the year,” Minton described.
Goldman Sachs isn’t just catering to its usual crowd of hedge funds. Its crypto derivatives business is attracting a broader range of clients, including asset managers and bank clients, along with some select digital asset firms. These clients are using the investment bank’s crypto derivative products to speculate on price movements, boost returns, and hedge against losses.
For now, bitcoin reigns supreme with Goldman Sachs’ clients but the global investment bank anticipates a surge in demand for ether-based products if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlights spot ether ETFs. Goldman Sachs launched its crypto trading desk in 2021. The bank currently offers cash-settled bitcoin and ether option trading along with CME-listed bitcoin and ether futures. It does not directly trade the underlying crypto assets.
Goldman Sachs is also actively involved in tokenizing traditional assets using blockchain technology. The investment bank has also made strategic venture investments in startups focused on developing digital asset market infrastructure. “We have a portfolio and will invest if or when it makes strategic sense,” Minton said.
Last week, Goldman Sachs’ head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott, similarly stated that the firm is seeing more institutions diving into crypto. He opined: “I do think over time we’ll start to see more asset classes get tokenized and actually get some scale – but maybe that’s one or two years down the line.”
Source: Bitcoin
