By Alicia Maher
Per multiple reports from various media outlets, the top investment banking firm (Goldman Sachs) wants to collaborate with a top crypto exchange firm, FTX, on its next IPO. The CEO of the two companies recently held a private meeting to discuss the finer details of the IPO, such as public listing expectations, possible regulatory issues, and the best ways to raise funds for the IPO.
Is Goldman Sachs Making A Deeper Foray Into Crypto?
Goldman Sachs has held various meetings with FTX executives to collaborate and launch an IPO, per a Financial Times report. The investment banking giants are seeking a partnership with FTX to expand the scope of their services to include digital assets. Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon, offered to help FTX deal with any possible issues the exchange may have with regulators, such as the CFTC, whenever it expands its services on American soil.
You’d recall that FTX recently applied with the CFTC to run a crypto ETF service. Solomon further told FTX chiefs that the financial institution would also invest significant funds during its next funding round. FTX raised $450m in a Series C fundraising event earlier in the year, and the company’s overall evaluation is estimated to be about $33b.
Part of the discussion between the two CEOs also revolved around the role of Goldman Sachs in FTX’s planned IPO. If Goldman Sachs were involved in FTX’s IPO, it would be their second involvement in the IPO of any crypto-related firm. Goldman Sachs was heavily involved in Coinbase’s IPO last year, an IPO considered the biggest in America’s history.
One other reason for the meeting between the two companies’ chiefs was how FTX could help Goldman Sachs’ plans to establish a strong presence in the crypto space. Most of the bank’s institutional clients have expressed serious interest if the bank starts offering crypto-related services such as crypto trading or any other custom crypto-related service or product.
The Increasing Influx Of Crypto Firms Into The US Crypto Scene
With crypto adoption in the US growing like wildfire, many crypto firms are making forays into the country’s crypto scene. But many of them have been unable to meet the strict terms from the regulatory authorities. FTX is one of the exchanges that have been unable to surmount regulatory and political issues to get listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Other notable mentions include Blockchain.com and Binance.
Hence, Coinbase remains the only crypto exchange publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange. However, blockchain.com revealed that it is making necessary efforts to get listed before the end of this year or latest, by Q1 2023. Also, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried revealed that FTX would only plan to launch an IPO after completing its next fundraising round through private investors. Nevertheless, a digital asset-focused SPAC (AFARU) recently raised $116m to enable its IPO listing on NASDAQ earlier in the week.