Goldman Sachs Raises Crypto Stake with BitGo Investment

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is raising its already substantial stake in digital currency with a $15 million contribution to cryptocurrency custodian BitGo Holdings Inc.’s Series B fundraising.

The $15M investment comprises more than 25 percent of BitGo’s total Series B fundraising, which totaled $58.5 million. BitGo is an industry leader in security, compliance and custodial solutions for blockchain-based currencies.

Indeed, the company is the largest domestic Bitcoin processor, handling roughly $15 billion in transactions every month for hundreds of clients across more than 50 countries. And BitGo’s ringing, million-dollar endorsement from two financial giants can only grow its client base.

What Is BitGo?

The Palo Alto-based BitGo has been around since 2013. It offers clients a variety of hot and cold wallet solutions for storing cryptocurrency assets.

The company is also a transaction platform, supporting nearly 90 coins and tokens. BitGo specializes in helping institutional clients address current problems with crypto as well as scale their use of digital currencies. Using crypto at scale introduces a number of regulatory, compliance and architectural complexities. BitGo is in the business of helping clients meet those challenges.

Cryptocurrency continues to disrupt traditional financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, whose clients are increasingly interested in and invested in digital assets. And that puts pressure on major financial institutions to find solutions, creating opportunities for custodial companies to move into the crypto space.

Goldman Clients Want A Secure Way To Hold Digital Assets

Goldman’s customers, institutions and wealthy investors, want to invest in cryptocurrency. But the risks associated with it as an asset class are still a powerful deterrent. As a result, major firms have been largely unwilling to hold cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for many large investors to get into the market.

Goldman’s investment in BitGo addresses both issues. It meets U.S. regulatory requirements for large money managers to entrust client assets with qualified custodians. In this case, digital currency and blockchain assets. And, it gives Goldman the opportunity to develop its own cryptocurrency investment services down the road.