Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is weighing a new trading operation dedicated to Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) and other digital currencies, the first blue-chip Wall Street firm preparing to deal directly in this market, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Goldman seeks to serve a growing cadre of institutional investors wagering on Bitcoin.
Goldman’s effort involves both its currency-trading division and the bank’s strategic investment group.
That suggests the firm believes bitcoin’s future is more as a payment method rather than a store of value, like gold.
As digital coins proliferate and draw interest from professional investors, they become harder for Wall Street trading desks to ignore.