Goldman Sachs to open bitcoin desk

Goldman Sachs is opening the first bitcoin trading desk on Wall Street — although the operation won’t actually buy or sell the crypto just yet, reports The New York Times. It will instead focus on a limited number of derivatives based on bitcoin, according to Bloomberg. Goldman has hired a “digital assets” trader to manage the desk. Banks have been hesitant to embrace virtual currencies (JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a “fraud” last year), but Goldman’s move “is likely to lend legitimacy to virtual currencies,” per the Times.