Goldman Sachs, which had already invested in cryptocurrency related projects such as Circle, has hired Justin Schmidt, a former quart trader and crypto specialist as the vice president and head of digital asset markets. Schmidt will assist Goldman Sachs in navigating client interest in trading cryptocurrencies.
Earlier in December, Bloomberg reported the bank is planning to launch cryptocurrency trading desk. However, Goldman Sachs denied those claims. Notably, in 2015, the equity trading giant was part of a $50 million funding in Circle, which facilitates trading in cryptocurrencies, in addition to payment services.
Commenting on the appointment, Tiffany Galvin, a spokeswoman of Goldman Sachs said
“In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space. At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”
As of now, Goldman acts as a facilitator rather than a market maker. The clients of Goldman Sachs use the leverage provided by the investment firm to trade in Bitcoin futures contracts offered by CBOE Global Markets and CME Group exchanges. However, Goldman Sachs is not directly involved in trading cryptocurrencies.
Earlier last week, it was reported that Barclays was monitoring the cryptocurrency markets and in talks with clients to gauge their interest in cryptocurrencies. More banks and financial institutions are expected to follow a similar approach until the demand from clients reaches a threshold.
Before joining the investment banking giant’s securities division, Schmidt served as a senior vice president at Seven Eight Capital and portfolio manager at LMR Partners.
