Goldman Sachs Clients Return to Crypto in 2024

Goldman Sachs clients are showing renewed interest in crypto, particularly Bitcoin, with some actively participating in the digital asset market.

Goldman Sachs clients are reportedly starting to return to cryptocurrency in 2024. This is due to the introduction of the spot Bitcoin exchange, a source of increased interest.

According to a report that was published on March 24 by Bloomberg, Max Minton, who is the head of digital assets for Goldman Asia Pacific, stated that several of his company’s significant clients had lately gotten involved in the cryptocurrency sector or were “exploring getting active” in the digital asset market.

The introduction of ten new Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States in January, which firmly established crypto assets as a more critical component of traditional markets, is a significant contributor to the growing interest in cryptocurrencies, according to Minton, who added that this occurred in January.

“The recent ETF approval has triggered a resurgence of interest and activities from our clients.”

By way of his company’s options and futures offers, Minton indicated that most of the new demand originates primarily from Goldman Sachs bexisting clients. He further stated that hedge funds are the most involved of Goldman’s clients.

At the end of 2023, Goldman Sachs revealed that the total assets under management, amounting to $2.8 trillion, were a record. It is important to note that Goldman Sachs does not presently provide any spot cryptocurrency products to its customers, even though it established its first cryptocurrency trading desk in 2021.

It is only possible to gain exposure to cryptocurrency derivatives through this desk, which includes Bitcoin and Ethereum options and futures.

Minton stated that although the previous year was a quieter one, there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of interest from customers in terms of onboarding, pipeline and volume since the beginning of this year.

According to Minton, Goldman’s clients primarily used their derivatives to gain exposure to cryptocurrency volatility and to make weighted medium-term price forecasts.

Additionally, Minton said that items linked to bitcoin prices were the most popular investment vehicles among active clients. In addition, Minton considered that establishing a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States could result in a movement of his company’s institutional clientele toward Ether.

However, Bloomberg ETF analysts estimate that there is only a 35 percent chance of an Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) receiving approval by the end of May.

This is because the Securities and Exchange Commission has maintained a “radio silence” toward potential fund issuers for an extended period, which is considered increasingly pessimistic.

In addition, Minton stated that Goldman would attempt to grow into “a wider universe of clients” in the future, including asset management companies, banks and more specialist crypto asset enterprises. Regardless of the approval status of an ETF, this would remain the case.