Goldman Sachs Hires Crypto Trader Schmidt to Lead Digital Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. hired Justin Schmidt as head of digital asset markets to help clients gain exposure to cryptocurrencies.

Schmidt, 38, joined the securities division in New York as a vice president, said bank spokeswoman Tiffany Galvin-Cohen. He previously worked at quantitative trading firms Seven Eight Capital LLC and WorldQuant LLC and has computer science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to his LinkedIn profile. Tearsheet, a financial industry newsletter, reported the hiring earlier Monday.

Goldman Sachs has been a leader in helping clients navigate crypto markets, and was among the first Wall Street firms to clear Bitcoin futures offered by Cboe Global Markets Inc. and CME Group Inc. The company was considering whether to start a trading desk to make markets in digital currencies, people familiar with the effort said in December.

“In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space,” Galvin-Cohen said in a statement. “We have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”

Schmidt didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sonali Basak in New York at sbasak7@bloomberg.net, Lily Katz in New York at lkatz31@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum, Steve Dickson

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