Key Points
- Goldman Sachs discloses holding $418 million in Bitcoin-related ETFs.
- Despite previous skepticism, the firm’s investment shows a warming towards crypto.
Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking firm, has revealed its investment in several Bitcoin-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), totaling $418 million.
This information was made public through Goldman Sachs’ recent 13F filing for the second quarter of 2024, which was published on August 14.
Investment Details
The filing shows that Goldman Sachs holds close to 7 million shares, valued at over $238 million, in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin (BTC) Trust.
Additionally, the firm owns 1.5 million shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF, valued at nearly $80 million, and 940,443 Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF shares, with a market value of $56.19 million.
Smaller holdings include an $8.3 million investment in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, roughly $750,000 in WisdomTree’s BTCW ETF, and nearly $300,000 in ARK 21Share’s ARKB ETF.
Change in Attitude Towards Crypto
Goldman Sachs’ disclosure is intriguing given its executives’ previous skepticism towards cryptocurrencies.
For instance, in April 2024, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, the investment giant’s chief investment officer, expressed her belief that crypto was not a viable investment asset class, adding that Goldman Sachs were “not believers in crypto.”
However, the advent of crypto ETFs, which allow investors to gain exposure to the assets without directly owning them, has led to a shift in attitude among traditional financial institutions.
Current data from Coinglass indicates that Bitcoin ETFs have a total market cap of $57.39 billion and total assets under management valued at $48.74 billion.
Nate Geraci, host of ETF Prime, notes that BlackRock’s IBIT ETF has seen over $20 billion in cumulative inflows since its inception in January 2024.
This trend has been enhanced by more than 600 institutional investors reportedly allocating portions of their funds to crypto ETFs.
In a 2023 interview with FOX Business, Goldman Sachs’ head of digital assets acknowledged that approving spot crypto ETFs would increase liquidity and pave the way for pension funds and similar financial institutions to invest in crypto.
Recently, the State of Michigan Retirement System disclosed an investment of $6.6 million in ARK 21Share’s spot BTC ETF.
