NEW YORK (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is exploring the way it can meet rising buyer demand to personal and spend money on bitcoin, whereas nonetheless staying on the appropriate facet of regulation, financial institution President and Chief Working Officer John Waldron mentioned on Wednesday.
“Consumer demand is rising,” Waldron mentioned. “We’re regulated on what we are able to do. We proceed to judge it … and interact on it.”
The financial institution not too long ago restarted its cryptocurrency buying and selling desk and this month it began dealing bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for purchasers. reut.rs/3lf3KNz
Goldman can be exploring a bitcoin trade traded fund and has issued a request for data to discover digital asset custody.
Waldron mentioned Goldman can custody digital property “however can’t precept” them, and is in talks with regulators and central banks about how banks needs to be regulated when coping with digital cash.
The U.S. Securities and Change Fee is mulling easy methods to regulate broker-dealers who’re holding digital property for purchasers and requested for public feedback on the matter in December. reut.rs/2PScLjS
The pandemic precipitated an explosion in on-line commerce, as shoppers spent extra time buying from their sofa than in-person over the previous yr.
Goldman believes this development will proceed and that it’ll trigger a corresponding “explosion” in using digital foreign money, Waldron mentioned.
“The pandemic has been a major accelerant,” Waldron mentioned. “There is no such thing as a query in our thoughts there will probably be extra digital commerce … and (use of) digital cash.”
Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Modifying by Nick Zieminski
