Goldman Sachs Preparing to Offer Bitcoin Investment to Clients
Key Takeaways
- Goldman Sachs planning to allow bitcoin investments to wealthy clients
- The service, to be available this quarter, marks another step towards mainstream adoption
Bitcoin Plans as Early as Quarter 2, 2021
Goldman Sachs, the legendary banking firm, aims to launch cryptocurrency investing during the second quarter of 2021. The announcement was revealed in a memo from Mar 31. Mary Rich, the newly-appointed head of the Goldman Sachs digital assets group for private wealth management, will work towards allowing Goldman clients to participate in a “full-spectrum” of investments in bitcoin and other digital assets. “In this newly-created role, she will work closely with advisors to educate clients about blockchain technology and the digital assets ecosystem, and seek to deliver content, investment offerings, and services,” the internal announcement said.
Client’s Demand for Bitcoin Services
Mary Rich is expected to hit the ground running as clients are increasingly demanding exposure to “physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles,”. To meet the demand, “Mary will leverage the firm’s capabilities to ensure Goldman Sachs can best meet client interest across digital asset classes and technologies.” In addition, the memo said that at Goldman Sachs, “we believe in the possibility of blockchain technologies, and it is imperative that we continue to drive innovation and deliver solutions to our clients.”
Mary Rich gave an interview for CNBC on Wednesday where she addressed the recent news by saying: ″We are working closely with teams across the firm to explore ways to offer thoughtful and appropriate access to the ecosystem for private wealth clients, and that is something we expect to offer in the near-term.”
The Dawn of a New Internet
The head of Goldman Sachs digital assets shared that clients of the investment bank have been eager to get involved with the emerging asset class after seeing the growth which took bitcoin to levels above $60,000 in mid-March. According to Mary Rich, the current macro picture with blockchain assets rubbing shoulders with traditional asset classes like stocks and commodities feels like “the dawn of a new Internet”.
If launched, the service will be offered to wealthy individuals or families with at least $25 million to invest. Last month, Goldman Sachs restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk that deals with bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for its clients.