Goldman Sachs Praises Healthy Crypto Market Correction, Talks Bitcoin Custody Services

The current situation of Goldman Sachs and its cryptocurrency operations still hasn’t been set on stone. While talking at a panel presentation at CoinDesk’s Consensus: Invest conference, Goldman Sach’s digital asset head Justin Schmidt announced that they aren’t yet close to offering clients custodial services for digital assets.

“One of the things they ask me is ‘Can you hold our coins?’ and I say ‘No, we cannot’. One of the things we have to take into consideration when we’re building out our business is what we can and cannot do from a regulatory perspective.”

Goldman isn’t entirely cautious of cryptocurrencies though. The bank invested in BitGo Holdings Inc., which is looking to present custodial services to its users. The bank was also among the first to clear the Bitcoin futures listing by CME Group Inc. and Cboe Global Markets earlier this year. It was also considering starting a trading desk for digital currencies.

Despite clear interest from clients, Schmidt notes that the current regulatory climate surrounding digital assets has limited Goldman Sachs in terms of things that they can offer. However, Schmidt emphasizes that the current ongoing bear market, which is in part due to the regulatory climate, is actually healthy for the ecosystem.

“In many ways, the rampant speculation that has been quelled over the past several months is really healthy for the ecosystem and I very much look forward to companies that are actually providing institutional-grade products and services.”

With institutional investors like VanEck still in the running for the creation of a Bitcoin ETFs, a revival in the crypto markets could pose more demand upon Goldman to offer expanded services to clients. He noted further that he wants to see consistent research and development in this space which could lead to real products and services.

“Custody is this foundational piece that is absolutely necessary. Custody is part of an overall integrated system where different parts need to work well with each other and safely with each other and you have to be able to trust all the different parts in that chain, from buying something to transferring it to storing it in for the long-term.”