Goldman Sachs makes first OTC crypto options trade as it expands digital assets team

The digital assets trading unit at Goldman Sachs has made the first-ever over-the-counter (OTC) crypto transaction in the form of a bitcoin non-deliverable option, according to an announcement by its partner Galaxy Digital. The bank also added another digital assets VP to its team headed up by Matthew McDermott. 

The company says this is the first OTC crypto transaction by a major bank in the US and could be seen as a sign of maturity of the asset class in the eyes of institutional players. 

“We are pleased to continue to strengthen our relationship with Goldman and expect the transaction to open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets,” said co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy Digital Damien Vanderwilt in a statement. 

It comes at a time when the investment banking giant is diving deep into crypto after restarting its bitcoin trading desk back in March last year.

Earlier this month, The Block reported that Goldman Sachs is connecting clients to Galaxy Digital’s ETH fund. It’s also beefed up its investments in the space — for instance, it took part in crypto bank Anchorage‘s $350 million Series D funding round back in December.