The approval of ten new spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States in January has prompted an upsurge in hedge fund "interest and activities" in cryptocurrency markets, according to a report by Bloomberg citing Max Minton, Asia Pacific Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs.

The report quotes Monton as sating in an interview that: “Many of our largest clients are active or exploring getting active in the space.”

Goldman, which launched its crypto trading desk in 2021, currently provides cash-settled bitcoin option and ether option trading, in addition to CME-listed bitcoin and ether futures, bit doesn't not trade the underlying crypto tokens.

The uptick in demand has come from existing clients, mainly traditional hedge funds, with managers using crypto derivatives for directional bets, yield enhancement, and hedging purposes, according to a Minton.

“It was a quieter year last year, but we’ve seen a pickup in interest from clients in onboarding, pipeline, and volume since the start of the year,” Minton said.

Most of the interest remains in bitcoin-related products, although Minton is expecting interest for ether-related products to increase, should ether ETFs also be granted approval in the US.