Goldman Sachs is becoming the first major bank to make a significant investment in a Bitcoin-focused company, giving a vote of confidence to the embattled virtual currency.

The Wall Street bank announced late Wednesday that it had struck a partnership with a major Chinese investment firm, IDG Capital Partners, to lead a $50 million investment into Circle Internet Financial, a start-up that aims to use the technology underlying Bitcoin to improve consumer payments.

Since first grabbing widespread attention in 2013, Bitcoin has been dented by criminal activity tied to the virtual currency and by flurries of speculative buying and selling. The price of one Bitcoin on Wednesday hovered around $225, far below the high above $1,200 that it hit in late 2013.

Even as public interest has waned, however, major financial institutions have been quietly but seriously examining the opportunities offered by the technology, and particularly the new financial network that hosts the Bitcoin digital tokens and allows them to be sent around the world securely, cheaply and almost instantly.