Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is looking to offer over-the-counter bilateral crypto options, indicating the bank’s deeper involvement in helping institutions trade digital-currency derivatives.
The powerhouse is one of the few Wall Street banks that are in the early stages of exploring such offerings, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified when discussing private information. So-called binary options allow trades to be customized so that crypto holders such as hedge funds and bitcoin miners Can hedge against risks or increase returns.
These options market, still in its infancy, has been dominated by crypto-native firms such as Genesis Global Trading Inc., Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. and GSR. Traditional trading giant DRW Holdings LLC has also jumped in as a liquidity provider.
Large Wall Street banks are still not active in the crypto spot market, handicapped by regulatory uncertainty, internal compliance procedures and “know your customer” rules. goldman Offering options and futures trading in bitcoin and ether. Last year, it opened trading non-deliverable forwards, a derivative tied to the price of bitcoin that pays in cash.
The bank sees demand for derivatives-type hedging, and the development of an options market will be the next big step, Andrei Kazantsev, Goldman’s global head of crypto trading, said at a December panel organized by CoinDesk. Goldman provides liquidity and risk appetite on behalf of clients to facilitate large trades, he said.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint.
download
Our App Now!!