Goldman Sachs Keen On Joining FTX IPO As Crypto Interest Grows

Goldman Sachs, an investment banking giant, is reportedly interested in working with crypto exchange FTX on an upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

Recently, the investment banking giant’s CEO David Solomon and  FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried discussed public listing prospects, regulatory challenges, and fundraising in a recent meeting.

Goldman Sachs Plans To Expand Into Crypto With FTX

One of the largest investment banks in the United States, Goldman Sachs is actively looking to expand into crypto. The investment bank is currently in talks with  FTX over a possible IPO,  The Financial Times reported on April 21.

During the meeting with Sam Bankman-Fried, David Solomon agreed to help and advise FTX on future  challenges with regulators, especially the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as it seeks to expand services in the U.S. Moreover, in March, FTX filed with CFTC to offer leveraged crypto derivatives.

Goldman Sachs will also be helping FTX in funding rounds in the future. FTX is currently valued at $32 billion after January’s $400 million Series C funding round.

The two executives also discussed Goldman Sachs’ participation in a possible IPO of FTX. The investment bank had participated in Coinbase’s 2021 IPO- the biggest crypto listing yet in the United States.

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs is actively looking for a collaboration with FTX on crypto market making as the investment bank grows its presence in the digital assets market. The bank has already flagged interest from institutional clients in crypto trading, and also plans to begin offering more tailored crypto products.

Crypto Exchanges Seek Public Listing in the U.S.

Crypto companies are actively seeking to expand into the U.S. as crypto adoption grows in the country. However, due to stringent regulatory challenges, Coinbase is the only publicly listed crypto exchange company in the country.

The strict regulatory hurdles and political pressure is limiting crypto exchanges such as Binance, FTX, and Blockchain.com to listing in the U.S. Recently, Blockchain.com announced plans of launching an IPO in 2022 or 2023 starting. FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried is planning to raise funding before a possible IPO.