Two of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, DBS and Goldman Sachs (GS), said they executed the first ever over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency options trade between banks, marking a major step towards institutionalizing digital assets in Asia.
The trade involved cash-settled Bitcoin and ether The options allow banks to hedge exposures tied to crypto-linked products, the companies said in an email. Such transactions reflect long-standing practices in traditional finance, providing structured and customizable risk management tools for institutional portfolios.
The milestone comes amid growing demand for digital asset derivatives. The bank said that in the first half of 2025 alone, DBS clients executed more than $1 billion in crypto options and structured note trades, with volume climbing nearly 60% from the first to the second quarter. Options give holders the right, but not the obligation, to transact in the underlying asset at a predetermined price for a specified time.
“Professional investors are looking for secure, trustworthy and well-managed platforms to build their digital asset portfolios,” said Jackie Tai, head of trading and structuring at the Singapore-based institution.
“Our deal with Goldman Sachs highlights how platforms can now harness the banks’ strong credit rating 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 the market structure.
“The trade marks the growth 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 connect traditional finance and crypto markets through familiar tools like options, swaps and structured notes. As more institutional players adopt such hedging mechanisms, Asia’s digital asset landscape appears poised to increasingly reflect the risk and liquidity frameworks that define global capital markets.