Goldman Sachs considering cryptocurrency expansion
US investment bank giant Goldman Sachs is exploring the possibility of expanding the cryptocurrency trades that it currently handles, according to chief operating officer David Solomon.
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Solomon, who is believed to be the frontrunner to succeed Lloyd Blankfein as chief executive, said the bank must "evolve its business and adapt to the environment" when asked about cryptocurrencies in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
"We are clearing some futures around Bitcoin, talking about doing some other activities there, but it’s going very cautiously. We’re listening to our clients and trying to help our clients as they’re exploring those things too," said Solomon.
Solomon's sentiment has been echoed by Blankfein himself who, despite not owning any cryptocurrency himself, said it would be "too arrogant" to conclude that the phenomenon does not have a future.
"If you could go through that fiat currency where they say this is worth what it's worth because I, the government, says it is, why couldn't you have a consensus currency?" Blankfein said during a talk at The Economic Club of New York.
According to reports from December, Goldman Sachs is in the process of setting up a trading desk for cryptocurrencies which is scheduled to be up and running at the end of June.
The bank, like other traditional financial institutions, has been reluctant to commit to the $284bn market for unregulated virtual currencies.
As of 1550 BST, Goldman Sachs Group’s shares were down 1.09% at $225.34.