Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has announced plans to offer over-the-counter (OTC) Ethereum (ETH) options trading. According to the bank's global head Andrei Kazantsev, the decision to offer Ethereum OTC options trading is pegged on rising customer interest in Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
On Tuesday in a Goldman Sachs Client Webinar, Andrei claimed that the Wall Street giant has plans to sell cash-settled Ethereum options in “due time.” The bank has not given a specific timeline of when it plans to start the OTC ETH options trading.
The plans for ETH options come right on the heels of Goldman Sachs starting to offer OTC Bitcoin options. It started offering Bitcoin options last month.
Demand for crypto options by investors
There has been an increased demand for options trading by crypto investors since they use them to increase profits and reduce risk.
Secondly, over-the-counter transactions are normally larger trades and they are arranged secretly.
During the webinar, an associate in Goldman's digital-assets unit called George Lewin-Smith noted that the conversations among clients had shifted to Ethereum, which is now seen as “more of an investable asset class.”
Besides options trading, Goldman Sachs currently does not offer spot crypto trading. It however provides access to Canadian and European exchange-traded goods that clients can use as a proxy.
Ethereum (ETH) performance
After passing the last significant test as it presses toward its long-awaited software upgrade dupped “The Merge,” the price of Ethereum (ETH) has risen by more than 32%.
If successful, ‘The Merge’ shall be the most important technical upgrade since Ethereum was launched in 2015. The main aim of the upgrade is to reduce Ethereum’s carbon footprint while also improving the blockchain’s scalability and efficiency.