Goldman Sachs is planning to spin off its cryptocurrency platform into a standalone company focused on creating and trading financial instruments on blockchain networks, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 18.
The investment bank is in discussions with potential partners to expand the platform’s capabilities and introduce new offerings, according to Mathew McDermott, Goldman’s global head of digital assets.
Tradeweb Markets, an electronic trading platform, is expected to be one of the new entity’s strategic partners.
McDermott noted that the spinout is projected to be completed within 12 to 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals, though plans are still in their early stages.
“It’s in the best interest of the market to have something that is industry-owned,” McDermott told Bloomberg.
In July, McDermott revealed Goldman Sachs’ intention to launch three new tokenization products in the U.S. and Europe, citing a “major uptick in interest from clients” in crypto.
The bank’s upcoming initiatives aim to create marketplaces for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), focusing on U.S. fund complexes and European debt markets.
McDermott explained that the target audience for these products would be financial institutions rather than retail investors, with the offerings operating exclusively on permissioned blockchains.
The RWA marketplace is expected to differentiate itself by offering faster execution and expanding the range of collateralizable assets.
McDermott attributed the “renewed momentum in crypto” to the rise of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for digital assets.
Since January, nearly a dozen Bitcoin ETFs have been launched following U.S. regulatory approval, while spot Ether ETFs were greenlit in July.
Goldman Sachs has emerged as one of the largest buyers of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024.
Demand for tokenized RWAs, particularly low-risk yields from Treasury bills and money market instruments, continues to grow, with tokenized U.S. Treasury debt now valued at approximately $2.4 billion as of Nov. 14, according to RWA.xyz.
