U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs plans to offer Ether ( ETH ) derivative products in the coming months, setting the stage for broader adoption of the second-largest cryptocurrency and marking a significant departure from the institution's critical stance toward digital assets in the past.
Mathew McDermott, Goldman's managing director of digital assets, confirmed Monday that the investment bank is expanding into Ether options and futures.
McDermott was referring to a survey of 850 institutions conducted last week in which nearly 10% of respondents said they trade cryptocurrencies and 20% were interested in entering the market.
According to CoinShares, institutional inflows into Ether products have totaled nearly $1 billion this year alone , with total assets of about $11.1 billion.
Goldman launched a limited Bitcoin ( BTC ) derivatives trading platform in early May . The new team is embedded in the bank's Global Currencies and Emerging Markets division and is overseen by McDermott's digital assets division.
Goldman's involvement in digital assets extends far beyond its trading platforms. As Cointelegraph reported, the bank recently led a $15 million investment round for Coin Metrics , a leading cryptocurrency analytics platform. McDermott said Goldman is "looking at a number of different companies that fit our strategic direction."
