Goldman Sachs to Restart Bitcoin Trading, Launch Futures This Month

Goldman Sachs is reportedly relaunching its digital asset trading desk and will start dealing bitcoin futures later this month. 

The relaunch will make onramps into digital assets much easier for traditional investors who are newcomers to digital assets. The $1.1 trillion-asset bank is one of the largest investment banks in the world by revenue and is a primary dealer in the US Treasury security market. 

Goldman had initially planned to launch the desk in 2018 but soon postponed the idea indefinitely amid regulatory uncertainty concerning digital assets and a big decline in the bitcoin price. 

The news comes in the middle of a bitcoin bull run largely driven by institutional investors. Though the price has been experiencing a pullback this past week after reaching an all-time high above $58,000 at the end of February, institutions have continued to give their bitcoin blessings.

Today, Citigroup issued a report saying bitcoin is at the “tipping point of its existence” and could be the preferred vehicle for international trade; and Fidelity’s director of global macro, Jurrien Timmer, said investors should consider bitcoin as part of a portfolio.

Goldman Sachs is also studying the potential to offer a bitcoin exchange traded fund as well as digital asset custody, according to Reuters, which first reported the story Monday. Bank of New York Mellon will also begin offering digital asset custody solutions this year.

The Wall Street bank will join Fidelity, CME Group, and NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange, all of whom also offer bitcoin futures contracts. Last month BlackRock also indicated it’s eyeing a bitcoin futures launch of its own.