Goldman Sachs Relaunching Crypto Trading Desk After 3-Year Pause

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has relaunched its cryptocurrency trading desk after a three-year hiatus and plans to once again support bitcoin futures trading, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CoinDesk. Contrary to an earlier report by Reuters, the source said the service would resume in mid-March, not next week.

The desk is part of a broader push into digital assets that may see Goldman attempt to stage a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, Reuters said. It will be a part of Goldman's U.S. Global Markets division.

The bank had originally planned to launch a crypto desk in 2017 but shelved those plans in 2018 due to regulatory concerns.

Read more: Goldman Sachs to Enter Crypto Market ‘Soon’ With Custody Play: Source

CoinDesk reported in January that Goldman was looking to re-enter the cryptocurrency industry, including with a custody offering, within the coming months.

The move follows fellow megabank BNY Mellon announcing last month a crypto custody service, reportedly in partnership with Fireblocks. Once BNY Mellon is holding bitcoin on clients' behalf, it may roll out additional services, the bank suggested in an interview with CoinDesk.