Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to provide over-the-counter Ether options trading, citing rising customer interest in the second-largest digital currency, according to Andrei Kazantsev, the bank’s global head of crypto trading. During a Goldman client webinar on Tuesday, he claimed the Wall Street behemoth plans to sell cash-settled Ether options “in due time.” Goldman Sachs traded its first over-the-counter Bitcoin options last month. Crypto investors utilize options to reduce risk and increase profits, and over-the-counter transactions are often larger trades that are arranged secretly. With a market capitalization of $417 billion, Ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, which has a market capitalization of $876 billion. During the panel, George Lewin-Smith, an associate in Goldman’s digital-assets unit, noted that client conversations had progressively switched to Ether, which is now perceived as “more of an investable asset class.” According to Kazantsev, Goldman still doesn’t offer spot crypto trading, but it does provide access to European and Canadian exchange-traded goods that can be used as a proxy. Since March 15, when it passed the last significant test before a long-awaited software update called “The Merge,” Ether’s price has risen more than 32% and beat Bitcoin. The Merge would be Ether’s most significant technical update since its launch in 2015, reducing the blockchain’s carbon footprint while ...
