Report: Goldman Sachs Considering Bitcoin Services for Clients

Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs is rumored to be putting together a new trading outfit dedicated to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, according to a new report.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman is in the "early stages" of the effort – though it cautioned that the bank may ultimately pass on a cryptocurrency-focused trading operation. The Journal further adds that the trading operation could see input from more than one office within Goldman.

"Goldman’s effort involves both its currency-trading division and the bank’s strategic investment group, the people said. That suggests the firm believes bitcoin’s future is more as a payment method rather than a store of value, like gold," the Journal reported.

Representatives for Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a spokeswoman told the Journal that, in light of interest from the bank's clientele, "we are exploring how best to serve them in [the cryptocurrency] space."

That clients may be asking for closer access to cryptocurrency markets through the bank directly is perhaps unsurprising, given past moves from the bank.

Beginning this summer, analysts at Goldman began predictive notes on the bitcoin market, with chief technician Sheba Jafari notably predicting bitcoin's climb past $4,800. And in a question-and-answer report published in August, Goldman analysts wrote that "real dollars are at work here and warrant watching."

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