Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk and will begin dealing Bitcoin (BTC) futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients from next week, according to Reuters.
The bank first launched a Bitcoin desk, which cleared futures and traded non-deliverable forwards, in 2018. As the first Bitcoin trading operation at a Wall Street bank, Goldman Sachs started to use its own money to trade with clients in a variety of contracts linked to the price of Bitcoin. However, it reportedly shut the desk down before the years’ end.
According to Reuters, the desk is part of Goldman’s initiatives responding to the booming digital asset market, which also include blockchain technology projects and central bank digital currencies. It is also exploring the potential for a Bitcoin exchange traded fund, and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody.
For now, the desk is trading derivatives tied to Bitcoin, instead of trading the cryptocurrency itself.
As the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin recovered some lost ground after a significant fall back last week. It is now trading at $49,389, up 6.4% over the past 24 hours.
The price volatility of Bitcoin makes its derivatives attractive for investors willing to take riskier long or short positions.
Cryptograffiti Drawing Attention to Bitcoin
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are increasingly being accepted as an established asset class, as investors increasingly look to hedge their portfolio against the risks of rising inflation and currency debasement.
On another note, pseudonymous Bitcoin artist Cryptograffiti started a Bitcoin treasure hunt in the United States with the latest artwork series.
The artist is hosting the exhibition in each of the 12 Federal Reserve branch cities, such as Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, among others.
Each billboard, a variation of Cryptograffiti’s “United Nodes of Bitcoin” piece, contains its unique statement, with a hidden message in the artwork – private key of a 0.21 BTC prize, which is worth around $10,000 at the current market price.
The part-puzzle, part-artwork is part and parcel for pseudonymous bitcoin artist Cryptograffiti, who told CoinDesk that the work is to draw attention to Bitcoin in areas where he believes it’s needed most: low-income neighborhoods in the United States.
“Everyone would just gravitate toward the dollar. It’s a familiarity thing and people like money and want money. So I would use it to teach them about bitcoin,” he said.
