A historic step that will bring legitimacy to virtual currencies, the bank is about to begin using its own money to trade with clients in a variety of contracts linked to the price of Bitcoin.
The bank, initially, won’t be buying and selling Bitcoins but a team at the bank is looking at going in that direction if it can get regulatory approval and figure out how to deal with the additional risks associated with holding the virtual currency.
Rana Yared, one of the Goldman executives overseeing the creation of the trading operation, said the bank was aware of what it was getting itself into: “I would not describe myself as a true believer who wakes up thinking Bitcoin will take over the world,” Ms. Yared said. “For almost every person involved, there has been personal skepticism brought to the table.”
Let’s remember Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an anonymous character named Satoshi Nakamoto, who talked about replacing Wall Street banks — and not giving them more business. In the last few months, Tech companies such as Square have begun offering Bitcoin services to their customers, and the commodity exchanges in Chicago started allowing customers to trade Bitcoin futures contracts in December. Now, it seems to be Wall Street turn.
