Investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is in talks to be an authorized participant, or AP, for the spot bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded funds that Grayscale Investments and BlackRock (BLK) want to market in the U.S., according to a Wednesday media report.

Should it take on that key role, the Wall Street giant would essentially create and redeem ETF shares to make sure the products change hands in lockstep with their underlying assets (in this case, bitcoin (BTC-USD)).

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) itself kicked off 2024 on a volatile note as the earliest deadline for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to greenlight a spot bitcoin is just one week away.

Last month, BlakcRock (BLK), the world's largest asset manager, tweaked its filing to allow for cash redemptions, a change that may improve its chances of the SEC approving the product.

Grayscale, meantime, is seeking to convert its $26B Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC:GBTC) into an ETF. Market makers Jane Street and Virtu Financial (VIRT) last year were named as proposed APs upon the transition, CoinDesk reported.