Goldman Sachs Spot BTC ETF Holdings Reach $419 Million as Institutional Adoption Surges

Source: Blockchain Knight

According to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Goldman Sachs has accumulated approximately $419 million in BTC exposure through ETFs.

The investment banking giant disclosed that Goldman Sachs holds positions in seven of the 11 spot BTC ETFs listed in the United States on behalf of its clients.

Goldman Sachs said in a 13F form that it bought 6.9 million shares of BlackRock's iShares IBIT ETF, worth $238.6 million.

Fintel data shows that Goldman Sachs is currently the third largest holder of IBIT, second only to Millenium Management and London-based Capula Management.

It is worth noting that Goldman Sachs is one of the nine Wall Street giants supporting IBIT.

BlackRock reportedly held talks with Goldman Sachs earlier in January, hoping that Goldman Sachs would play a key role in it, and in April this year, BlackRock appointed Goldman Sachs as an authorized participant.

In addition to IBIT, the bank also reported holdings of 1.51 million shares of Fidelity BTC ETF (worth $79.5 million), 660,183 shares of Grayscale BTC ETF (worth $35 million), and Invesco Galaxy’s BTC ETF (worth $56.1 million).

In addition, the firm also holds small stakes in other funds such as Bitwise, Wisdom Tree, and ARK21 Shares.

Goldman’s stance on BTC highlights a larger trend in the traditional financial industry, which has clearly shifted from an initial negative stance to a cautious acceptance of Crypto assets and their inclusion in mainstream financial products.

Goldman has previously stated that its clients are not interested in digital assets.

Sharmin Mossavar Rahmani, chief investment officer of the bank’s wealth management division, declared in April: “We do not view it as an investment asset class. We do not believe in Crypto assets either.”

Goldman’s disclosure comes as institutional demand for BTC ETFs has exploded this year.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci observed that BlackRock’s IBIT has attracted about $20.5 billion in cumulative net inflows this year alone, leaving the non-spot BTC ETFs that followed it far behind.

Of the 375 new ETFs that will be launched in 2024, the non-spot BTC ETFs that followed it have only accumulated $1.3 billion in inflows.

“The current numbers are ridiculous,” Geraci wrote on X on August 14.

BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s BTC ETF, ARK 21Shares BTC ETF, and Bitwise BTC ETF are the four major funds launched this year.

Continued institutional adoption is critical for BTC to hit new all-time highs. According to some industry experts, if the current adoption curve grows fourfold, BTC’s “ultimate price” could exceed $700,000.