Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer Martin Chavez has come out to classify the latest speculation regarding the bank halting its efforts to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk as “fake news.”

While speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Chavez emphasized that Goldman Sach’s exploration of the digital asset class is an ever-evolving process and is in response to significant client interest.

I never thought I would hear myself use this term but I really have to describe that news as fake news.

Interestingly, Chavez noted that the original report by the New York Times that indicated the bank was planning to launch a dedicated trading desk was taken too far. Chavez clarifies that the potential creation of a crypto trading desk is still very much in its infancy and nowhere near as far along as many speculated.

Maybe someone who was thinking about our activities here got very excited that we would be making markets as principal and physical bitcoin, and as they got into it they realized part of the evolution but its not here yet.

The latest report, which was published by Business Insider and cited insiders familiar with the matter, claimed that the current regulatory uncertainty surrounding the digital asset class led Goldman Sachs to forego its trading desk efforts to instead focus on its custody offerings.

While it is unclear where the bank currently stands regarding a dedicated trading desk or other related products, it is clear that it has not shut any doors and remains in its exploratory phase.

The cryptocurrency market took a significant hit in response to the now questionable report, as the AltDex 100 Index (ALT100), a benchmark index for large-cap cryptocurrencies and tokens, is dropped over 15% in just a matter of hours.

Bitcoin currently sits just shy of $6,500 as buyers have begun to return to the market. Time will tell whether this latest clarification by Goldman Sachs will help recoup a portion of the losses sustained over the past few days.

Goldman CFO at @TechCrunch regarding rumors of rolling back crypto desk "I think one of the wonderful things about us is that we get written about a lot. I never thought I would hear myself use this term but I really have to describe that news as Fake news." — Sally Shin (@sallyshin) September 6, 2018

Disclaimer: This article’s author has cryptocurrency holdings that can be tracked here. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.