Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banks in the U.S, is now planning to expand its crypto trading desks to Ethereum in the next few months. This will set the stage for the investment bank to facilitate the trading of the second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum and marks a significant departure from the bank’s previous attitude towards digital assets.
Mathew McDermott, the director in charge of managing digital assets at Goldman Sachs, confirmed the announcement on Monday that the investment bank is expanding its facilities to provide Ethereum trades, options, and futures. McDermott stated the institutional demand for digital assets will keep growing despite the market volatility, Bloomberg News reported during the interview.
McDermott believes the institutes will adopt digital assets sooner or later, but they will in fact continue to adopt them, despite the material price correction and the significant rise in interest.
Expanding into Ethereum is the latest step for the Wall Street giant, Goldman’s revived trading desk this year. Offering trading platforms to clients to public trade futures tied to cryptocurrency. In addition to offering options, futures, and trading platforms to Bitcoin enthusiasts, McDermott stated the investment bank is planning to facilitate the trades through exchange-traded notes that keep track of Bitcoin.
Goldman’s announcement did not go without criticism from regulatory agencies with warnings about the risks that come with trading crypto. Extremely volatile market, crypto’s role in money laundering schemes, and the like. However, despite the risks and the warnings, Goldman was still keen on offering crypto trading services to bigger clients.
Goldman’s adoption of digital assets goes beyond the trading desks. In a recent data reported by Cointelegraph, the bank-led a $15 million investment round for Coin Metrics, which McDermott stated was in accordance with the bank’s strategic direction.
