Goldman Sachsis pushing forward into the growing market for derivatives linked to digital assets.

CNBC reported that Goldman is on the verge of announcing its first-ever over-the-counter cryptocurrency transaction. Goldman trades a bitcoin-linked option called the non-deliverable options with a cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy DigitalThe two companies claim that it was.

This is a significant step towards the establishment of crypto markets by institutional investors. OTC trades are a part of this development. Comparable to exchange-based trading CME Group bitcoin productsThe firms claim that Goldman has been trading since last year and the bank now takes on more risk as it acts as principal for the transactions.

According to Damien Vanderwilt, Galaxy co-president, Goldman is an important player in the global markets for traditional assets. This is evidence of the increasing maturity of this asset class for institutions like hedge funds.

Vanderwilt explained that this trade was the first time banks had taken steps to provide customized exposures to crypto markets on behalf of clients.

The options trades are “much more systematically-relevant to markets compared to cleared futures or other exchange-based products,” Vanderwilt said. Vanderwilt said that at a high-level this was because of the risks banks are taking. It’s also because they have a belief in the maturity of crypto.

The firms stated that hedge funds are looking for derivative bitcoin exposure in order to bet on the price of bitcoin without actually owning it or to hedge their existing exposure. There is a market in these instruments. mostly controlledCrypto-native crypto-firms such as Galaxy and Genesis.

Max Minton from Goldman Asia Pacific’s head of digital assets said, “We are happy to have executed the first cash-settled crypto options trade with Galaxy.” This is a significant development for our digital assets capabilities as well as the overall evolution of the asset type.

According to Andrei Kazantsev, Goldman’s global head for crypto trading and worldwide head for cryptocurrency at Goldman Sachs, the bank saw a high demand in options that are tied to digital assets. said in December.

He stated, “The next major step we envision is the development options markets.”