Goldman Sachs has announced that it will offer its clients Ethereum (ETH) over-the-counter (OTC) options trading. Client interest in the token is growing, according to the investment bank, as it prepares to switch to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model.
The move comes after the bank completed an OTC options trading for Bitcoin (BTC), a first for a major Wall Street bank, just a few weeks ago. The transaction was made through Galaxy Digital, a digital fund manager that is the largest source of liquidity for Goldman Sachs’ crypto products.
According to Bloomberg, the bank’s global head of crypto trading, Andrei Kazantsev, announced the decision during a customer webcast. The investment bank intends to launch the product “in due time,” he said.
As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency transitions to a PoS architecture, client interest appears to be shifting. From an investment standpoint, the move would make the token significantly more approachable.
Large transactions are common in OTC trades, which are oriented for institutional traders. The bank’s move into OTC crypto options reflects the increased interest in cryptocurrency among large trading firms, which make up the majority of Goldman’s clientele.
The bank does not provide spot cryptocurrency trading, but it does provide access to crypto ETFs and options trading. Rather than holding tokens directly, institutional traders prefer to invest in crypto through a proxy.
The coin has witnessed a significant increase in trading volume in the run-up to its upgrade to ETH 2.0. Staking is projected to make the token significantly more accessible due to its minimal energy and processing requirements.
The possibility of high stake returns may also entice debt investors, who would otherwise be paying double-digit yields on much riskier financial securities. Staking, which entails locking in the token for a predetermined amount of time, would similarly resemble a bond.
According to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, these features might push ETH prices above $10,000 by the end of the year. The price of ETH was $3,353 at the time of writing.
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