Goldman Sachs has reportedly shelved plans to open up a cryptocurrency trading desk, according to Business Insider on Wednesday. Although they haven’t canceled these plans entirely, they have pushed them way down on their to-do list.
As of 1:30 pm Eastern on Wednesday, Bitcoin was down 6 percent, trading at $6,931.36, according to CoinMarketCap.
However, Goldman hasn’t walked back on its involvement in cryptocurrency entirely. In early August, Business Insider reported that Goldman was planning to offer custodian services for cryptocurrency.
BI quotes an unnamed Goldman Sachs spokesperson who said “in response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space … at this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”
Guy Hirsch, US Managing Director of cryptocurrency trading platform eToro, recently told ETF Trends in an exclusive interview that the biggest barriers to institutional investment in cryptocurrency was the lack of reliable custodian services.
“In order to attract more institutional investors, crypto platforms and exchanges will also need to solve the custody issue,” he said. “Custodial concerns are extremely important for CIOs, and if they are unfamiliar with the brand of the custodian of the asset, they won’t get comfortable getting involved in the market.”
Asa Bitcoin’s bear market has dragged on, more and more institutions have scaled back their cryptocurrency plans. Almost a month ago, Barclays denied reports that it was planning to open a crypto trading desk.
For more news on the cryptocurrency market, visit our bitcoin category.