Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) will be one of the first big banks to jump on the Bitcoin train.
The finance giant announced that it will be opening a Bitcoin trading operation, using its own money to trade Bitcoin futures contracts with clients, according to a New York Times report.
The bank will not be buying and selling Bitcoin just yet but will be seeking out regulatory approval to move in that direction.
While JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has called the cryptocurrency a fraud, Goldman executive Rana Yared came to an different conclusion.
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Yared admits that the team behind the decision did have some skepticism about virtual currencies, but had received inquiries from clients and hedge funds looking to hold Bitcoin.
"It resonates with us when a client says, 'I want to hold Bitcoin or Bitcoin futures because I think it is an alternate store of value,'" said Yared in an interview with The New York Times.
The price of Bitcoin is unsteady as it is traded on unregulated exchanges with few ways to prevent the market from being manipulated.
"It is not a new risk that we don't understand," said Yared said. "It is just a heightened risk that we need to be extra aware of here."
Goldman will begin trading within the next few weeks.
Shares of the big bank were down less than a percent in Thursday pre-market trading to US$232.70.