Analyst: Investors Shouldn't Be Overly Optimistic About Goldman Sachs' ETF Positions, Which Are Only for Arbitrage Trading and Hedging

Goldman Sachs generated a lot of buzz on crypto Twitter when it revealed in its 13F filing that it holds a small stake in a spot Bitcoin ETF, but the truth is not what one would expect, according to CoinDesk Senior Analyst James Van Straten.

For starters, these ETFs aren't exactly Goldman's trading floor bets on the price of bitcoin ( BTC ). They are almost certainly held by the bank's asset management arm, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, for its clients.

Second, while the document (a snapshot of ownership as of 31 December 2024) shows a $288 million stake in the Fidelity Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) and a $1.3 billion stake in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), it also shows put positions (and a small number of call positions) with a notional value of more than $600 million.

This Goldman Sachs position, similar to many other banks and hedge funds, is not a net long position,’ James said. It is a strategy that mirrors the underlying trade, also known as a cash and carry trade, balancing the potential profit and risk of fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin. the ETF recently received options approval, so this is likely a directional hedge.’