Goldman Sachs Boosts Ether ETF Holdings by 2,000%
Goldman Sachs significantly increased its holdings in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by 2,000% during the fourth quarter of 2024, while also boosting its Bitcoin ETF investments to over $1.5 billion.
The investment bank expanded its Ether ETF exposure from $22 million to $476 million, with nearly equal investments in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) and the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), along with an additional $6.3 million in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE), according to its Feb. 11 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Goldman also raised its Bitcoin ETF holdings by 114%, reaching $1.52 billion.
This included nearly $1.28 billion in shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), marking a 177% increase from the previous quarter, and $288 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).
The filing, which is mandatory for investment managers with over $100 million in securities to submit quarterly, also revealed that Goldman holds $3.6 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
This surge in holdings coincided with rising prices for Bitcoin and Ether, which gained 41% and 26.3% respectively from the start to the end of Q4, according to CoinGecko data.
Additionally, Goldman appeared to have exited its positions in Bitcoin ETFs from Bitwise and WisdomTree, as well as joint offerings from Invesco and Galaxy, and from ARK and 21Shares.
These larger investments build on Goldman Sachs' initial entry into the spot crypto ETF market in Q2 2024, when it disclosed $418 million in Bitcoin ETF purchases.
Goldman’s recent acquisitions of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs reflect the increasing interest from institutional investors in crypto, driven by a more favorable regulatory landscape.
In November, Bloomberg reported that Goldman is also exploring the launch of its own crypto platform, aimed at enabling partners to trade financial instruments via blockchain technology.
Despite its growing involvement, Goldman has been critical of Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry since 2020, arguing that crypto is not an asset class and is “not a suitable investment” for its clients.
This sentiment was echoed by Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, chief investment officer of Goldman Private Wealth Management, in April last year—around the same time Goldman made its first Bitcoin ETF purchase.
“We do not think it is an investment asset class,” Mossavar-Rahmani said then, likening the crypto boom to the tulip mania of the 1600s and adding, “We’re not believers in crypto.”
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-increase-ether-bitcoin-etf-holdings-q4-2024
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