NEW YORK CITY— While most banks shy away from cryptocurrency, one of the world's most well-known financial institutions is all set to bring it to Wall Street.

The New York Times reports that Goldman Sachs will soon begin using its own money to trade Bitcoin futures contracts on behalf of its clients.

Futures contracts are legal agreements to buy and sell a certain number of assets at a predetermined price, at a specified time in the future.

The firm's executives are still somewhat skeptical of Bitcoin, concluding that while it isn't a fraud, it doesn't have the characteristics of a currency. Still, clients were interested, so the company hired its first digital assets trader to handle the crypto-trading operations.

Goldman could buy and sell actual Bitcoin in the future, but will need to secure regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve to do so. They will also need to find a way to securely guard the bitcoin, to avoid it being stolen by hackers, as has been the fate of many digital currency exchanges.

Experts have noted that the move will likely lend legitimacy to virtual currency, and are wondering whether it will prompt other financial institutions to follow suits.