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- Goldman Sachs issues information request documents to explore digital asset custody.
- Goldman Sachs’ digital asset custody strategy aims at stablecoins and possibly Bitcoin and Ethereum.
A Coindesk report reveals Goldman Sachs’ plans to become a custodian of digital assets that could include Bitcoin and Ethereum. The report cites a source within Goldman Sachs. The source indicated that Goldman Sachs’ initiative “will be evident soon.
The banking institution has issued a Request for Information (RFI) document. According to the report, the document was sent to “at least one well-known crypto custodian” in the last quarter of last year. The cited source stated:
Like JPMorgan, we have issued an RFI looking at digital custody. We are broadly exploring digital custody and deciding what the next step is.
The banking institution would be exploring introducing a “broad” strategy for digital asset custody. This is especially aimed at stablecoin. The strategy would have begun to form after a decision of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In mid-2020, the OCC allowed banks to become custodians of cryptocurrency and digital assets.
This measure was accompanied by another that allows the settlement of transactions on a public blockchain. Both are considered highly bullish for the crypto market. Goldman Sachs seems to be reacting to these measures to keep up with JPMorgan and other players.
As the report indicates, Anchorage obtained conditional approval from the OCC to become a digital national bank and to qualify as a custodian. In that sense, Anchorage could become an industry leader by attracting other big players. The company’s president, Diogo Mónica, recently stated that they are making efforts to get investors into the crypto space. Mónica believes that in order for there to be greater adoption they must offer a product with low risk.
About the possible involvement of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and CitiBank in the crypto industry, the president of Anchorage said that “we are talking to all those guys”.
Finally, the source cited by the report stated that the services and products that Goldman Sachs will seek to offer will not try to compete with Coinbase, BitGo, and others. Therefore, the source ruled out that the institution will offer brokerage services with cryptocurrencies.
Does Goldman Sachs contradict itself about Bitcoin?
The news of possible custody of Bitcoin and other digital assets by Goldman Sachs has been welcomed in the crypto community. Some users have claimed that “banks have begun to capitulate,” others have made bullish predictions for Bitcoin’s price once the institution announces its services.
What do all these companies have in common?@BitGo, @Anchorage, @NYDIG_BTC,@Bakkt, @itBit, @Gemini, @CoinbaseCustody, @KingdomTrustCo, @DigitalAssets,@PrimeTrustCo
….all places to custody your #bitcoin/#Crypto ahead of Goldman Sachs.
Grow the DAE!https://t.co/5TpukrQ6KB
— Dan Tapiero (@DTAPCAP) January 16, 2021
As reported by CNF, Goldman Sachs recommended to its investors not to allocate money to BTC and considered that the cryptocurrency does not classify as an asset. However, some analysts have indicated that the institution has secretly bought Bitcoin, accumulating a significant inventory of the cryptocurrency over the years.
