Goldman Sachs plans to spin out its digital asset platform in a move aligned with its strategy to scale back direct involvement in retail cryptocurrencies and support blockchain-based ventures.
The Bloomberg report revealed that Goldman Sachs is moving forward with its plans to spin off the proprietary digital assets platform, intending to establish a new independent industry-owned company.
This plan is a logical continuation of Goldman Sachs’ efforts to adapt to evolving market conditions and focus on blockchain technology for institutional use rather than retail crypto trading. The firm is in discussion with several market participants as potential partners for the separate venture.
The platform, which enables the creation, trading, and settlement of blockchain-based financial instruments, will be developed in collaboration with those partners. From the proprietary platform, it will turn into a brand new company enabling large financial firms to manage financial instruments via blockchain technology.
Plans for the new company are just starting to form, but the goal is to complete the spin-off in 12 to 18 months, according to Mathew McDermott, Goldman’s global head of Digital Assets.
Reportedly, the electronic trading platform Tradeweb Markets Inc. will become Goldman’s first strategic partner to bring new commercial use cases to the digital assets platform.
Goldman Sachs also plans to help clients trade secondary shares in private digital-asset companies, providing liquidity for sellers like family offices while offering buyers access to discounted private market deals. Additionally, the bank aims to restart Bitcoin-backed lending operations to expand its digital asset services.
Goldman Sachs is actively embracing the opportunities brought by blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The institution accelerated its efforts this year, participating in the testing of the blockchain network, launching asset tokenization initiatives, and debuting in the spot bitcoin ETF market with a purchase of $418 million worth of bitcoin funds.
