Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reopened its trading desk to make markets in cryptocurrencies. The Wall Street bank will begin offering bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients by mid-March. The trading desk reboot comes amid growing institutional interest in bitcoin, which has soared more than 470% over the past year. Goldman Sachs to Trade in Cryptocurrency & Offer Bitcoin Futures by Next Week Goldman Sachs will offer Bitcoin futures among other products by next week after halting a similar effort started in 2018. The desk is part of Goldman Sachs’ activities within the digital asset sector which also includes projects that involve blockchain technology and central bank digital currencies. The bank is also exploring the potential for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody. Goldman Sachs had originally planned to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk in 2017 but shelved those plans in 2018 citing regulatory uncertainty. Since then, the crypto market infrastructure has significantly matured, with many established financial institutions offering related products and services, including CME, Intercontinental Exchange, and Fidelity. Institutional Players Trading in Cryptocurrency The trading desk reboot comes amid growing interest by institutions in bitcoin, which has soared more than 470% over the past year. The leading cryptocurrency is seen by financial institutions, corporate players, investors as a hedge against inflation as governments and central banks turn on the stimulus taps. Despite Bitcoin’s meteoric rise over the past year, the cryptocurrency remains highly volatile. The digital asset smashed through $58,000 on February 21 while falling back by as much as 25%. Since then, it has also recovered from its fallen grounds. Bitcoin’s recent rally has been further fueled by the decision of major companies, including Tesla’s purchase of $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, Bank of New York Mellon’s announcement of forming a new unit to help clients hold and transfer digital assets. The bullish sentiment also comes surrounding Coinbase, which is poised to become the first major cryptocurrency company to go public in the coming weeks
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