Two of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, DBS and Goldman Sachs (GS), said they executed the first bank-to-bank over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency options trade, marking an important step towards the institutionalization of digital assets in Asia.
The trade involved cash-settled bitcoins. and ether options, allowing banks to hedge exposure linked to crypto-linked products, the companies said in an email. These transactions reflect long-common practices in traditional finance, offering structured and customizable risk management tools for institutional portfolios.
The milestone comes amid growing demand for digital asset derivatives. In the first half of 2025 alone, DBS clients executed more than $1 billion in crypto options and structured note trades, with volumes increasing almost 60% between the first and second quarters, the bank said. Options give their holders the right, but not the obligation, to transact the underlying asset at a predetermined price for a specific time.
“Professional investors are looking for secure, reliable and well-managed platforms to build their digital asset portfolios,” said Jacky Tai, who heads trading and structuring at the Singapore-based institution.
“Our trade with Goldman Sachs highlights how platforms can now leverage banks’ strong credit ratings and structuring capabilities to bring the best practices of traditional finance into the digital asset ecosystem,” Tai said in the statement.
Goldman Sachs, one of the first Wall Street firms to offer crypto derivatives to institutional clients, said the deal reflects an evolution in market structure.
“Trading means the development of an interbank market for cash-settled OTC cryptocurrency options, an area where we expect to see continued growth as institutional investors become increasingly active,” said Max Minton, the bank’s head of digital assets for Asia Pacific.
The transaction underscores how regulated banks are moving to bridge traditional and crypto financial markets through familiar tools like options, swaps, and structured notes. As more institutional players adopt such hedging mechanisms, Asia’s digital asset landscape appears increasingly poised to reflect the risk and liquidity frameworks that define global capital markets.
