Goldman Sachs holds $1bn in Bitcoin ETFs despite price rout

Goldman Sachs is holding just over $1 billion worth of exposure to Bitcoin, the firm disclosed in its fourth-quarter Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday.

Rather than holding the token itself, Goldman’s Bitcoin exposure is through direct equity positions in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

And industry leaders are taking notice of the investment bank’s foray into Bitcoin.

“Crypto is probably the only place you had an earlier start than the banks,” Changpeng Zhao, Binance co-founder and former CEO, said of the disclosure.

“Shows direction of travel,” said Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute.

Goldman’s CEO David Solomon is set to present at US President Donald Trump’s family’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency forum at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on February 18.

A slew of investors, regulators, and US senators is also expected to attend.

Price rout

Goldman’s disclosures come as Bitcoin’s price has crashed 47% from its October peak. The value implosion has coincided with a $2 trillion crypto industry drawdown since October.

The top crypto is trading at around $67,000 at time of reporting.

Meanwhile, stocks and gold have seen eye-watering price increases, with the S&P 500 up nearly 4% since October.

Bitcoin’s bounce from a low of nearly $60,000 on Friday “doesn’t yet feel like a true capitulation,” Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said in an investor note shared with DL News.

“The same players still hold the same positions, and without a transfer of ownership into fresh hands, a new cycle hasn’t begun,” Magadini said.

Investors have sold off over $6 billion in spot Bitcoin ETFs since November, according to DefiLlama data.

On Thursday, BlackRock’s IBIT broke $10 billion in trading volume in the market crash, with most traders selling after negative economic data spooked markets.

Altcoins too

Goldman’s Tuesday filing also shows the firm is diving into altcoins, or alternative cryptocurrencies.

The firm has just over $1 billion in Ethereum ETFs, $152 million in XRP ETFs, and another $108 million in Solana ETFs.

Altcoins are faring even worse than Bitcoin, with Solana down some 73% from its peak.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is down 3.5% over the past 24 hours, trading at $66,744.
• Ethereum is down 3.6% past 24 hours at $1,943.

What we’re reading

• Robinhood crypto revenue falls 38% as CEO says not to be ‘distracted by short term’ fluctuations — DL News
• EU lawmakers back digital euro as bloc races to bolster monetary sovereignty — DL News
• Jump Trading Moves Into Prediction Markets With Stakes in Polymarket and Kalshi — Unchained
• Why is tech lagging so much? — Milk Road
• Binance now custodies 89% of Trump family-linked stablecoin USD1 — DL News

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email him at lance@dlnews.com.