Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs is rumored to be putting together a new trading outfit dedicated to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, according to a new report.
Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman is in the âearly stagesâ of the effort â though it cautioned that the bank may ultimately pass on a cryptocurrency-focused trading operation. The Journal further adds that the trading operation could see input from more than one office within Goldman.
âGoldmanâs effort involves both its currency-trading division and the bankâs strategic investment group, the people said. That suggests the firm believes bitcoinâs future is more as a payment method rather than a store of value, like gold,â the Journal reported.
Representatives for Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a spokeswoman told the Journal that, in light of interest from the bankâs clientele, âwe are exploring how best to serve them in [the cryptocurrency] space.â
That clients may be asking for closer access to cryptocurrency markets through the bank directly is perhaps unsurprising, given past moves from the bank.
Beginning this summer, analysts at Goldman began predictive notes on the bitcoin market, with chief technician Sheba Jafari notably predicting bitcoinâs climb past $4,800. And in a question-and-answer report published in August, Goldman analysts wrote that âreal dollars are at work here and warrant watching.â
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