Goldman Sachs is planning to spin off its digital assets platform into a new, independent company focused on creating and trading financial instruments on blockchain networks.
This strategic move aims to enhance the platform’s capabilities and develop new offerings by collaborating with potential partners, including Tradeweb Markets, an electronic trading platform. The spinout is expected to be completed within the next 12 to 18 months, pending regulatory approvals.
In July, Mathew McDermott, Goldman’s global head of digital assets, announced plans to launch three tokenization projects by the end of the year, targeting the U.S. and European markets. These initiatives are in response to a significant increase in client interest in crypto assets.
The projects aim to create marketplaces for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), focusing on the fund complex in the U.S. and European debt markets. The goal is to enhance transaction speeds and diversify the types of assets available for collateral, catering primarily to financial institutions rather than retail investors.
This renewed momentum in crypto is partly attributed to the proliferation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for digital assets.
Since January, U.S. regulators have approved nearly a dozen Bitcoin ETFs, and in July, several spot Ether ETFs were greenlighted for listing on U.S. exchanges. Goldman Sachs has been among the largest buyers of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024.
Additionally, there is a growing demand for tokenized RWAs offering low-risk yields from instruments like U.S. Treasury bills. As of November 14, tokenized U.S. Treasury debt commands approximately $2.4 billion in total value locked.
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