Goldman Sachs is planning to spin off its digital assets platform into an independent company, aiming to enable large financial firms to create, trade, and settle instruments via blockchain. Mathew McDermott, Goldman’s global head of digital assets, revealed that the initiative is in early stages, with a spin-out goal set within 12 to 18 months, pending regulatory approval. The platform’s first strategic partner, Tradeweb Markets, will collaborate on developing new use cases. Goldman envisions an industry-owned model to enhance adoption and scalability, focusing on blockchain applications like tokenizing funds for collateral. Separately, Goldman is exploring private digital-asset secondary market transactions to provide liquidity for family offices and buyers, while resuming bitcoin-backed lending. The bank’s digital assets platform has already facilitated blockchain bond issuance for the European Investment Bank. Goldman will retain its digital-assets team while broadening blockchain initiatives.
