Goldman Sachs looks to offer bitcoin investment vehicles in the second quarter

Goldman Sachs aims to offer bitcoin and other crypto investment vehicles to private wealth management clients in the second quarter, The Block has learned.

CNBC reported the news first, citing Goldman's Mary Rich, who was recently named global head of digital assets for the bank's private wealth management division. Rich's promotion was announced in an internal memo on Wednesday seen by The Block.

"In this newly-created role, she will work closely with advisors to educate clients about blockchain technology and the digital assets ecosystem, and seek to deliver content, investment offerings and services," reads the memo.

The crypto offerings could be through the "physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles," Rich told CNBC.

"There's a contingent of clients who are looking to this asset as a hedge against inflation, and the macro backdrop over the past year has certainly played into that," said Rich. "There are also a large contingent of clients who feel like we're sitting at the dawn of a new Internet in some ways and are looking for ways to participate in this space."

Rich will work with Goldman's head of digital assets Mathew McDermott and global leader of PWM capital markets, Sara Naison-Tarajano, per the memo.

Goldman rival Morgan Stanley is also set to offer its private wealth management clients access to bitcoin and crypto funds via NYDIG or Galaxy Digital, as The Block reported earlier this month.

Update: This story has been updated to include The Block's confirmation of the news.