Goldman Sachs to offer Bitcoin futures trading in partnership with Galaxy Digital

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital will serve as the counterparty entity for Goldman Sachs’s Bitcoin futures trading product.

Goldman Sachs has debuted a Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading product for its client in collaboration with crypto investment giant Galaxy Digital.

According to CNBC, the move marks the first time the Wall Street bank has partnered with a digital asset-based liquidity provider. Galaxy Digital co-president Damien Vanderwilt said the company offered a gateway to the crypto space allowing a tightly regulated entity like Goldman to offer crypto-related investment products.

Goldman will reportedly be offering CME Group Bitcoin futures for its clients, marking another expansion of its recently established crypto trading desk. The move follows swiftly on the heels of an earlier announcement by the bank about debuting Ether (ETH) futures and options.

For Vanderwilt, Goldman offering BTC futures trading will help to onboard more institutional investors into the crypto investment space which the Galaxy executive argued will help to reduce price volatility.

Vanderwilt also remarked that the move would serve as an example to other Wall Street banks that crypto exposure is possible.

Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, the demand for crypto exposure appears to be growing on Wall Street with some banks recently announcing plans to establish trading desks for the novel asset class.

Related: Goldman Sachs analysts divided over whether Bitcoin is an ‘investable asset class’

Max Minton, Goldman Sachs head of digital assets for the Asia-Pacific region stated that offering Bitcoin futures trading was part of the banks’ goal of providing access to its clients’ preferred assets, adding:

“In 2021, this now includes crypto, and we are pleased to have found a partner with a broad range of liquidity venues and differentiated derivatives capabilities spanning the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

Despite the impending announcement from the bank, several Goldman figures are still reportedly not sold on Bitcoin as an “investable asset class.” Earlier in June, the bank’s commodities chief argued that BTC was more similar to a “risk-on” asset like copper rather than an inflation hedge like gold.