Goldman Sachs Eyes Collaboration With Crypto Exchange FTX as CEOs Meet: Report

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX, met Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon in the Caribbean to discuss potential collaborations between the two firms, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

• The two chief executives discussed Goldman Sachs advising FTX, which was valued at $32 billion in January, on future funding rounds and taking a role in a potential initial public offering (IPO), according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
• Solomon also offered Goldman Sachs's advice to FTX in discussions with regulators in the U.S. FTX filed a proposal with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in March that would allow it to directly clear trades of its derivatives customers. The regulator will give the proposal an informal hearing on May 23.
• The two also discussed collaborating on market making in crypto trades. Market making involves setting buy and sell prices on certain assets to facilitate trades and provide liquidity.
• The discussions demonstrate the increasing interest mainstream financial institutions are taking in the crypto industry after Goldman Sachs led the initial public offering (IPO) of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) last year.
• Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the report when contacted by CoinDesk. FTX had not responded by press time.

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