Goldman Sachs to offer over-the-counter ETH options

Quick Take

  • Goldman Sachs will roll out over-the-counter ETH options as part of the company’s continuing expansion into the crypto market.

  • Last month, it launched an OTC Bitcoin options trading product.

     

Goldman Sachs is gearing up to offer over-the-counter (OTC) ether options trading following its first successful OTC crypto transaction last month, according to head of crypto trading Andrei Kazantsev, who made the comments during a Goldman client webinar seen by Bloomberg.

Kazantsev didn't offer a definite date for the launch, merely saying that trading would open up “in due course.” But he has been floating the idea since December last year when he discussed the development of options markets as the next big step for the crypto space during a Coindesk-led webinar.

Although Kazantsev sees these types of products as being in their infancy compared to traditional markets like equities and forex, that hasn’t stopped the New York-based bank from pushing through a slew of crypto-related products over the last year.

Last month, in particular, Goldman made its first-ever OTC crypto transaction in the form of a bitcoin non-deliverable option with its partner Galaxy Digital, a crypto-focused investment firm.

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Goldman also already offers investment in ether through Galaxy Digital’s ETH fund.

Meanwhile, demand is growing among the bank’s clients for holding more digital assets. A survey by Goldman obtained by The Block suggested that 60% of its clients expect to increase their digital asset holdings over the next one to two years. Just under a third believed this increase would be “significant.”


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Callan Quinn is an NFT, gaming and metaverse reporter. She started her career working for the expat magazine City Weekend in Guangzhou, China. She also has worked as a business journalist in the UK, Somaliland and the republic of Georgia. Before joining The Block, she was a freelance journalist covering the Chinese tech industry. She speaks Mandarin, French and German. Get in touch via Twitter @quinnishvili or email [email protected].