Goldman Sachs Reveals $418M Stake in Spot Bitcoin ETFs as Institutional Faith in Crypto Climbs

• Goldman Sachs has invested in seven out of eleven U.S. Bitcoin ETFs.
• BlackRock’s BTC ETF holds over $21 billion in net assets.
• Bitcoin ETFs collectively command over $55 billion in BTC, or roughly 4.5% of its market cap.

As per its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street behemoth has disclosed investments across seven Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worth over $400 million.

The news comes as Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs see muted flows amid market uncertainty. However, Goldman Sach’s latest reveal suggests that faith in crypto ETF products remains strong.

Big on Bitcoin ETFs

Goldman Sach’s latest 13-F filing  revealed that it holds approximately $418 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Its largest position  is in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), reportedly worth under $240 million. Notably, IBIT is the best-performing spot Bitcoin ETF so far and commands over $21 billion in net assets.

Other notable holdings include $79.5 million in Fidelity’s $9.7 billion Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) and $56.1 million in Invesco Galaxy’s BTC ETF (BTCO).

Interestingly, Goldman Sachs also holds $35.1 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the worst-performing ETF, with nearly $20 billion exiting the fund in the past seven months.

The Wall Street giant’s smaller positions include $8.3 million in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), $749,400 in the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW), and $299.9k in the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB). In June, Goldman Sachs described BTC ETFs as an “astonishing success .”

Crypto ETFs, a Big Draw

Perhaps as a sign of the times, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs are close to collectively amassing greater stashes of BTC than Satoshi Nakamoto himself.

Legacy finance’s foray into Bitcoin has been a long time coming, and ever since institutions were given the green light, appetite has been considerably high.

According to data from SoSoValue , U.S. spot BTC ETFs now command $55.34 billion worth of BTC. This is approximately 4.63% of Bitcoin’s market cap.

With BlackRock’s stash at 347,767 BTC, ETF analyst. Eric Balchunas posits that it’ll overtake Nakamoto’s holdings by 2025. That said, it is only estimated that Nakamoto’s holdings amount to 1.1 million BTC. This is based on the assumption  that, as the first miner, he mined over 22,000 blocks .

BTC and ETH ETFs

Looking at the overall performance of Bitcoin ETFs, it seems safe to say that things are going particularly well, considering the ongoing market woes.

Although BTC ETFs saw two consecutive weeks of net outflows in August 2024, they have since begun to return to form, as has the price of BTC in recent days. Even as the market dipped BTC below $60,000, investors in these funds refused to sell.

With Ethereum ETFs, they’ve had a mixed few weeks. They began trading on July 23, 2024, and saw two weeks of negative flows, which have since been followed by two consecutive weeks of positive flows.

Flows for both BTC and ETH ETFs have been particularly muted in recent weeks. To some, a lack of significant buying/selling activity suggests that bullish sentiment is alive and well.

About the Author

Eddie Mitchell

Eddie has been writing news and content primarily for crypto news and industry players over the past seven years. With an eye for the bigger picture, Eddie prefers to investigate the broader implications of a story, as well as explore the weird and wonderful world of crypto. He believes blockchain has already changed the world, but observes the space overall with a skeptical and adoring eye.

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