Goldman Sachs. Source: Reuters
Mary Rich, the investment bank’s incoming global head of digital assets for the private wealth management division, told CNBC in an exclusive interview that they will launch the service in Q2 2021.
″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,” Rich said.
She noted that the bank might also launch a full spectrum of investment tools for bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies, which could be in the form of physically-settled BTC or crypto derivatives.
Although Rich did not disclose the requirement for the upcoming offering, based on Goldman Sachs’ past wealth management business, clients are usually required to invest at least $25 million.
Banks, including some of Wall Street’s biggest names, initially did not want anything to do with Bitcoin in its early years, but they are slowly reconsidering their decision to provide crypto-related offerings.
The crypto industry has recently seen many retail and institutional investors adopt bitcoin as a hedge against inflation compared to other traditional instruments like gold.
As Bitcoin continues its journey to mainstream finance, traditional investors have consistently demanded that financial institutions should also offer crypto investments as they seek to save themselves from the present global economic woes.
These demands have forced banks to delve into the crypto ecosystem to prevent an imminent exodus of clients into the market.
“There is a large contingent of clients who feel like we’re sitting at the dawn of a new internet in some way and are looking for ways to participate in this space,” Rich was quoted saying.
While most banks like Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon have bowed to customer pressure and announced crypto offerings, Goldman Sachs is not planning to be left behind.
According to Rich, the bank may offer a similar bitcoin investment fund, similar to that of Morgan Stanley.
The recent development comes on the heels of comments made by Goldman Sachs President and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron about the bank exploring ways to provide bitcoin offerings.
Waldron said that even though the bank may launch a crypto offering, it would go through regulated channels, such as a Bitcoin ETF.