Goldman Sachs Admits Its Largest Client Interested In Crypto

Investment manager company Goldman Sacred. (Photo; Doc. Luxie)

JAKARTA - The world's leading investment bank, Goldman Sachs, revealed that the approval of the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the recovery of Bitcoin (BTC) prices has sparked a new wave of interest in crypto assets among its largest hedge fund clients. This phenomenon marks an important turning point in the adoption of digital assets by institutional investors.

Max Minton, head of the digital asset Goldman Sachs for Asia Pacific, in an interview with Bloomberg, stated that the ETF approval had revived interest and activity among their clients. Many of our biggest clients are active or exploring the possibility of being active in this space," Minton said. Last year it may feel deserted, but since the beginning of this year, there has been a significant increase in client interest in onboarding, pipeline, and transaction volume processes.

Goldman Sachs, known for its services to hedge fund clients, is now also attracting attention from the wider spectrum of clients through its crypto derivative business. This includes asset managers, bank clients, and several certain digital asset companies. Crypto derivative products offered by the bank are used by clients to speculate on price movements, increase returns, and protect themselves from losses.

Bitcoin is still the most popular asset among Goldman Sachs clients, but it anticipates a surge in demand for Ether-based (ETH) products if the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves the ether ETF spot. Goldman Sachs has launched a crypto trading desk in 2021 and currently offers trading of bitcoin and ether options completed with cash, as well as CME-listed futures bitcoin and ether. The bank does not trade directly on its underlying crypto assets.

In addition, Goldman Sachs is also active in the process of tokenizing traditional assets using blockchain technology. This bank has made strategic venture investments in startups that focus on developing digital asset market infrastructure. We have a portfolio and will invest if or when it makes strategic sense," Minton said.

Mathew McDermott, head of digital asset Goldman Sachs, also stated that the company sees more institutions plunging into crypto. I think as time goes on we're going to start seeing more classes of tokenized assets and actually get some scale - but maybe it's a year or two ahead, "said McDermott.