REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, U.S., September 20, 2017.
- Goldman Sachs is going to soon start trading products linked to bitcoin, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
- The bank will not trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies yet, but there is a team dedicated to entering the market.
- Bitcoin popped by about $200 a coin, according to Markets Insider data.
Bitcoin enjoyed a little pop after news broke that Goldman Sachs was officially launching a bitcoin trading operation.
The Wall Street investment bank will soon start trading bitcoin futures with its own money for its clients, according to the New York Times. It will also trade so-called non-deliverable forwards, another type of derivative product which the bank will create.
Should the bank get approval from the necessary regulators, it will trade bitcoin, according to the report.
Bitcoin popped by close to $200 soon after the news broke. The coin, which is known for its wild price swings, was trading at $9,209 a coin at last check.
Bloomberg News reported in December that the bank was getting ready to launch a crypto desk by the end of June. Goldman would be the first major bank to launch such a trading operation.
Goldman already clears bitcoin futures for some clients, as does its archrival Morgan Stanley, while other banks like Citi and Bank of America have steered clear of the market.
Notably, Goldman brought on Justin Schmidt as vice president and head of digital asset markets in the firm's securities division. Goldman executive Rana Yared will also play a role in the creation of the desk.
