Goldman Sachs has reportedly teamed up with cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital to start trading bitcoin futures.
This marks the first time Goldman has used a digital asset firm as a counterparty since its move to establish a cryptocurrency desk last month, CNBC reported citing Galaxy Digital co-president Damien Vanderwilt.
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Vanderwilt joined is a former Goldman partner who joined New York-based Galaxy, which was founded by Mike Novogratz.
The firm, which is said to work with over 300 institutional trading counterparties, is expected to go public in the US this year. It is currently listed on Toronto Stock Exchange.
According to Vanderwilt, Goldman’s move to start trading cryptocurrency will essentially give other banks cover to begin doing so as well.
He was quoted as saying in an interview: “There’s a whole dynamic with the major banks that I’ve seen time and time again: safety in numbers.
“Once one bank is out there doing this, the other banks will have [fear of missing out] and they’ll get on-boarded because their clients have been asking for it.”
According to a CNBC report last month, Goldman said in a memo that it would sign on new liquidity providers to expand its bitcoin offering.
Goldman’s Asia-Pacific region head of digital assets Max Minton has been quoted as saying in a statement: “Our goal is to equip our clients with best-execution pricing and secure access to the assets they want to trade.
“In 2021, this now includes crypto, and we are pleased to have found a partner with a broad range of liquidity venues and differentiated derivatives capabilities spanning the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”
It was also reported last month that the investment giant is offering new bitcoin derivatives to investors to further accelerate its push into the $1trn bitcoin market.
In January this year, US-based asset manager BlackRock filed prospectus documents with Securities and Exchange Commission to add Bitcoin futures as eligible investments for two funds.
