Goldman Sachs has executed its first over-the-counter crypto options trade, making it the first major U.S. bank to trade cryptocurrencies over the counter. The firm traded a non-deliverable Bitcoin option, a derivative tied to Bitcoin’s price that pays out in cash.

The world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is reportedly planning to back its first cryptocurrency fund. The fund, with over $150 billion in assets under management, is not planning to directly invest in cryptoassets itself.

Ethereum’s burning mechanism, introduced in the London hard fork through EIP-1559, has so far destroyed over 2 million ETH tokens, worth nearly $6 billion. The mechanism came as part of a restructure to the network’s fee system.

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Goldman Sachs Conducts OTC Crypto Options Trade
• World’s Largest Hedge Fund to Back Crypto Fund
• 2 Million ETH Has Been Burned Ahead of Ethereum 2.0 Rollout
• Chart of the Week: Monthly RUB/UAH Volume-Share
• CCDAS Summit - Get 10% Off for Being a Loyal Reader

Goldman Sachs Conducts OTC Crypto Options Trade

Goldman Sachs has executed its first over-the-counter crypto options trade, making it the first major U.S. bank to trade cryptocurrencies over the counter. The firm traded a non-deliverable Bitcoin option, a derivative tied to Bitcoin’s price that pays out in cash.

The trade was facilitated by Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency financial services firm started by former Goldman partner Michael Novogratz. Options are used by investors to hedge risks or boost yields, with over-the-counter transactions typically being privately negotiated large trades.

In a statement Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy Digital, said he expects the trade to “open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets.”

Last year Goldman opened up trading of non-deliverable Bitcoin forwards. The firm also offers exchange-listed options and futures trading in both BTC and ETH.

World’s Largest Hedge Fund to Back Crypto Fund

The world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is reportedly planning to back its first cryptocurrency fund. The fund, with over $150 billion in assets under management, is not planning to directly invest in cryptoassets itself.

The move shows the hedge fund is taking crypto seriously as an asset class. Its founder, Ray Dalio, made a personal investment in BTC in May 2021, the size of which is minuscule compared to Bridgewater’s AUM.

In January, Bridgewater issued a report on institutional crypto trends, but it has recently commented that although it is continuing to “actively research crypto” it’s “not currently planning on investing” in it.

2 Million ETH Has Been Burned Ahead of Ethereum 2.0 Rollout

Ethereum’s burning mechanism, introduced in the London hard fork through EIP-1559, has so far destroyed over 2 million ETH tokens, worth nearly $6 billion. The mechanism came as part of a restructure to the network’s fee system.

Instead of all fees paid to execute operations on the Ethereum network going to miners, EIP-1559 created a base fee that is burned, with users having the option to tip miners for their transactions to be processed faster.

If enough ETH is burned on a daily basis, the cryptocurrency could become deflationary as more tokens are burned than minted. The cryptocurrency could become deflationary ahead of the launch of Ethereum 2.0, which is expected to improve the network’s transaction speeds and lower costs.

Ethereum 2.0 will move the network to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which is more environmentally friendly.

Chart of the Week: Monthly RUB/UAH Volume-Share

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to surging cryptocurrency trading volumes in both countries. Nearly a month after the “special military operation” started, trading volumes in Russia’s ruble (RUB) are consolidated onto four main exchanges: Binance, EXMO, Cryptonex, and Currency.com. Together, these account for 99% of RUB volumes.

Crypto trading in Ukraine’s hryvnia (UAH) has been concentrated on three main cryptocurrency exchanges: Binance, EXMO, and Kuna. These command over 99.8% of all UAH volumes, with Binance’s volume having surged from 40.7% in January to 70.2% in March.

CCDAS Summit - Get 10% Off for Being a Loyal Reader

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Time is running out to secure your place at The CryptoCompare Digital Asset Summit! CryptoCompare readers can save 10%  today with code NEWSLETTER10. You can find more information here

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