Goldman Sachs Launching Crypto Trading Desk, Says Bitcoin Is Not a Fraud and Not a Currency

Goldman Sachs is planning to open a Bitcoin trading operation in the next few weeks. At first, the financial giant will use its own funds to offer a select number of derivatives, reports the New York Times.

Moving forward, the company says it is looking to trade Bitcoin directly to its clients.

Rana Yared – the executive creating the Bitcoin operation – says Goldman is still skeptical about crypto, but decided to listen to customers who want to trade digital currencies. From the New York Times:

“Ms. Yared said Goldman had concluded that Bitcoin is not a fraud and does not have the characteristics of a currency. But a number of clients wanted to hold it as a valuable commodity, similar to gold, given the limited quantity of Bitcoin that can ever be ‘mined’ in a complex, virtual system.

‘It resonates with us when a client says, I want to hold Bitcoin or Bitcoin futures because I think it is an alternate store of value,’ she said.”

Goldman hired its first crypto trader, Justin Schmidt, a couple of weeks ago. He is reportedly looking through the regulatory mechanics of trading Bitcoin directly to clients.

Goldman has also backed Circle, a financial-services firm that is focused on cryptocurrencies and has partnered with US-based cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex.

Image Courtesy Zongo/Flickr

 

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