Report: Goldman Sachs And FTX Keen To Form Collaboration

Goldman Sachs and cryptocurrency exchange FTX are reportedly looking to strengthen their business relations.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon had a meeting with FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the Caribbean last month to discuss possibility for the two firms could strengthen their business relations. According to a report by Financial Times, Solomon was eager to advise FTX on future funding rounds and was interested to explore if his bank could play a role in the exchange’s potential IPO. 

The duo also discussed Goldman advising the crypto startup on its relationship with U.S. regulators, especially with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is a key player in regulating the crypto markets alongside the Securities Exchange Commission.

Goldman Sachs is keen to form closer ties with the fastest-growing crypto exchange in the industry, now valued at around $32 billion. This is in line with the bank’s recent push to expand its presence in the crypto space.

Last year, the bank moved closer to embrace Bitcoin as a new asset class, offering over-the-counter crypto trading services and launching an in-house crypto trading desk.

FTX on the other side is interested to form relations with high-profile politicians and the big shots of the traditional finance world that crypto was initially created to disrupt.

According to report, the banking giant has also considered a potential future collaboration with FTX on market-making in crypto and discussed providing banking services to the exchange.

Due to crypto industry’s unclear regulatory status, traditional banks have been hesitant to form relationships with crypto service providers. Although, seemingly this is starting to change, with an growing number of big banks looking to service the growing industry to tap into new money flows.