The American investment banking heavyweight Goldman Sachs has granted a customer a cash loan backed by bitcoin (BTC).
Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs had confirmed that it had lent cash in a deal that was “collateralized by bitcoin owned by the borrower,” per “a spokeswoman for the bank.”
The spokeswoman stated that the deal “was interesting to” the bank “because of its structure and 24-hour risk management,” while the media outlet called the loan “a significant step for a major United States bank that accelerates Wall Street’s embrace of cryptocurrencies.”
Further details of the loan – such as the borrower’s identity and the amount involved – were not made public.
However, in recent months, Goldman Sachs has stepped up its crypto adoption plans. Last month, reports claimed the firm was “close to announcing” that it had become the first major bank in the USA to offer over-the-counter (OTC) crypto transaction-related services.
Then, earlier in April, the firm expanded its OTC crypto options trading offerings to options contracts based on ethereum (ETH).
Last week, Cryptonews.com reported that the bank may even be eyeing a partnership deal that may involve one of the United States’ largest crypto exchanges. A private meeting reportedly took place involving its leadership and the FTX Founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The meeting, which was reportedly attended by Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon, allegedly focused on the issue of whether Goldman could advise on future funding rounds for FTX, as well as a potential public listing for the exchange.
The bank appears to have pivoted toward large-cap cryptoassets and business involving these, a departure from its previous stance on digital coins. Most notably, the company had previously talked up the issuance of its own stablecoin. But in January this year, the company suggested that it now had no immediate intention of launching a Goldman Sachs coin.
Source: Cryptonews
