Bitcoin Boom Prompts New Developments for Financial Institutions

The past couple of months have been quite monumental for the world of crypto. Bitcoin, in particular, managed to scale to even greater heights and broke records it had set before, something that has a ton of impacts on the way individuals and institutions perceive crypto. Already, we are seeing several new developments with the most notable ones being by leading financial institutions. It is not just gambling operators anymore.

Goldman Sachs to Reopen Its Cryptocurrency Trading Desk

Beginning next week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc will be reopening its crypto trading desk. It is the second time that the banking powerhouse will be pursuing a piece of the crypto market. The previous attempt was in 2018 and was abandoned following the crash of bitcoin at the time. Now, there has been a change of heart for the company which is without a doubt a result of the mind-numbing bitcoin surge recorded over the past several weeks.

Goldman Sachs’ new crypto trading operation will see it deal bitcoin futures for clients. In addition to that, it will also be trading non-deliverable forwards which are already quite popular in foreign exchanges and commodities markets. This move has been equated to decisions by investors and companies to use bitcoin as a hedge against inflation especially as governments and central banks turn on various stimulus taps.

Coinbase’s Impending Listing

Riding on the back of a very strong 2020 and a solid first two months of 2021, Coinbase which happens to be one of the world’s most popular exchanges is finally taking another leap forward by becoming a public company. This will not only enable it to raise capital publicly but also push forward its plans to give more people access to crypto. If you missed out on the crypto boom, this will be the perfect opportunity to jump onto the bandwagon.

An official offering date is yet to be announced but if the ongoing rumors and speculations are anything to go by, we should expect some developments very soon.

Robinhood Records Massive Surge in Crypto Activity

Robinhood has also recently reported seeing growing consumer interest in crypto trading – the volumes have already risen significantly which goes to show just how lucrative the sector is becoming. To put this into context, the company saw a whopping 6 million new crypto traders at the beginning of 2021, a number that is still growing.

Perhaps the next move will involve the expansion of its crypto portfolio. As it stands, it only supports seven digital currencies which is a rather small number when compared to other trading platforms. This should, hopefully, change very soon.