Even as China shutters Bitcoin exchanges and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signals heavier scrutiny of initial coin offerings, clients of trading giant Goldman Sachs are still trying to get in on the cryptocurrency trade.
According to the Wall Street Journal citing people with knowledge of the matter, the banking giant is reportedly considering a new trading operation involving cryptocurrency thanks to increased interest in digital currencies. Potentially, the operation under consideration could become a full-fledged team of traders and sales people.
Such an operation would make Goldman the first Wall Street giant to directly deal with cryptocurrency, according to the Journal.
“In response to client interest in digital currencies, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space,” a Goldman Sachs representative said in a statement.
Interest in Bitcoin has indeed risen in the U.S., with the cryptocurrency trading at about $4,400 Monday, up roughly 341% since the start of 2017. Meanwhile, i nvestors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Union Square Ventures have all gotten involved in cryptocurrency.
Goldman Sachs has also been ahead of the curve in addressing bitcoin as an investment in comparison to other trading giants. Goldman Sachs is likely the only banking giant with a Bitcoin analyst issuing price targets.
J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon on the other hand again dubbed Bitcoin a “fraud” recently, though his company is still catering to his clients’ fear of missing out. The banking giant has still been routing customer orders for an exchange-traded note tracking Bitcoin, but notably not the cryptocurrency itself.