Goldman Sachs looking to spin out its digital assets tech platform

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs said on Monday it is looking to spin out a blockchain-based technology platform designed to streamline institutional trading and reduce settlement times.

The Wall Street titan said the platform, called GS DAP, will ultimately become “industry-owned.” It has partnered with rates and credit trading platform Tradeweb Markets to expand its commercial use cases. 

Banks have long expressed interest in using blockchain to trade assets such as cash and bonds, but to do so on a large scale would require a major overhaul of the technology infrastructure underpinning financial markets.

Yet, institutions often hesitate to adopt a platform controlled by a rival. 

“Establishing a new, standalone company independent of Goldman Sachs and its Digital Assets business will help to provide the future runway for digital financial services by ensuring a fit-for-purpose, long-term solution,” the bank said in a statement.    

It aims to execute the spin-out within the next 12 to 18 months, Mathew McDermott, the bank’s global head of digital assets, said in an interview with Bloomberg News, which first reported the move.

While GS DAP will be spun out, the bank will continue to build out its digital assets business. 

Institutional interest in the crypto has soared after the industry secured some major wins this year, with the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to make the country the “crypto capital of the planet.”

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Alan Barona)