NEW YORK (US) – Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. John Waldron said that the company is exploring how it can meet rising customer demand to own and invest in bitcoin, while still staying on the right side of regulation.
“Client demand is rising,” Waldron said. “We are regulated on what we can do. We continue to evaluate it and engage on it.”
The bank recently restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk and this month it started dealing bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients.
Goldman is also exploring a bitcoin exchange traded fund and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody.
Waldron said Goldman can custody digital assets “but can’t principle” them, and is in talks with regulators and central banks about how banks should be regulated when dealing with digital money.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is mulling how to regulate broker-dealers who are holding digital assets for clients and asked for public comments on the matter in December.
The pandemic caused an explosion in online commerce, as consumers spent more time shopping from their couch than in-person over the past year.
Goldman believes this trend will continue and that it will cause a corresponding “explosion” in the use of digital currency, Waldron said.
“The pandemic has been a significant accelerant,” Waldron said. “There is no question in our mind there will be more digital commerce and (use of) digital money.”