Goldman Sachs Reportedly Exploring Ether Options

Goldman digital assets head said products will be available “in the coming months”

article-image

Mathew McDermott, global head of digital assets, Goldman Sachs; Source: Goldman Sachs

share

key takeaways

  • Goldman says it has continued client and institutional interest in the product, and that a market slump is a good time for entry
  • Former CFTC lawyer Braden Perry says unclear guidance from the CFTC might hamper wide availability

Goldman Sachs digital assets head, Mathew McDermott, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the bank is planning on launching an ether futures and options trading platform for clients in the near future. 

The report said that this move is part of the bank’s restart to its crypto services with McDermott at the helm.

McDermott said Goldman is planning on offering exchange-traded notes tracking the price of bitcoin as well as other digital assets derivatives products. Even though the crypto market is in something resembling a bear market, McDermott told Bloomberg that this hasn’t deterred client interest

“We’ve actually seen a lot of interest from clients who are eager to trade as they find these levels as a slightly more palatable entry point,” McDermott told Bloomberg in an interview. “We see it as a cleansing exercise to reduce some of the leverage and the excess in the system, especially from a retail perspective.”

For its part, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has given the green light to regulated digital assets derivatives trading so far and should in theory have no problem with Ether futures and options as former CFTC chairman Heath Tarbert has said on the record that he believes Ether is a commodity and not a security. 

But former CFTC enforcement attorney Braden Perry, now a partner at Kansas City-based Kennyhertz Perry said that the commission has yet to give clear guidance — calling the CFTC’s regulatory practice a moving target that seems to change with each new technological advance — and is using laws and regulations from yesteryear which might not be compatible in the era of digital assets. 

“These regulations were drafted decades ago and are framed in the so-called ‘traditional’ investing community of high-priced brokers and sophisticated, wealthy investors,” he told Blockworks by email. “The last thing any industry wants is regulation by enforcement, where agencies decide that some practices should have been illegal, and instead of declaring it illegal from now on through rule-making, go back and prosecute the people who were doing it before.”   

Perry believes that the CFTC is moving too slowly and is not allocating a sufficient budget to cover this market. 

“The inherent nature of crypto has presented new problems for regulators, including budgetary challenges. So despite their claim of becoming a leader in the crypto space, there has been a lack of guidance on the issue,” he continued.

Ether is currently trading for approximately $2,500, according to CoinGecko, up 2% on-day.  

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Strive board member Ben Werkman expects thousands of firms to hold BTC, if only “to protect themselves”

article-image

To date, 12.6 million humans have scanned at a World Orb

article-image

One small step for man, one giant leap for Bitcoin

article-image

Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said it would be “very rare” for an acquisition to happen since the IPO may occur as soon as next week

article-image

Sponsored

Money is one of the most consequential pieces of infrastructure, and M0 believes its architecture should serve builders, not extract from them

article-image

The financial backwaters they laughed at might be the only thing keeping the dollar afloat