Goldman asset-management arm files to offer a crypto-related ETF

[PORTLAND] Goldman Sachs Group's asset-management arm filed an application Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to offer an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on securities of cryptocurrency-related companies.

The Goldman Sachs Innovate DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF would track the Solactive Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index, the filing said.

The fund would invest at least 80 per cent of its assets, exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in securities, depositary receipts and stocks of companies included in the index.

Numerous crypto-related companies have been going public, or discussing the potential of doing so, in recent months - offering more options for equity investors looking to get into the space.

The US's biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase Global, debuted in the spring. Exchanges like Kraken and FTX have been mulling going public as well, and there are also vehicles like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Goldman is hoping to offer exposure to decentralised finance or DeFi, which is one of crypto's hottest growth areas.

These are apps that allow for peer-to-peer lending, borrowing and trading, and they hold a total of about US$64.5 billion in funds, according to tracker DeFi Pulse.

The other area of the ETF's potential investment, blockchain, could include any companies that develop digital ledgers for applications like payments.

Goldman has been ramping up its cryptocurrency work in recent months. It's restarting its crypto trading desk to help clients like hedge funds deal in publicly traded futures tied to Bitcoin. In June, it also announced plans to offer options and futures trading in Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.

Goldman has filed for an ETF at a time when Bitcoin has been stuck in a trading range of about US$30,000 to US$40,000 for weeks, well off its mid-April record near US$65,000.

Goldman is planning to offer the ETF "as soon as practicable after the effective date of the Registration Statement", the filing said. Shares of the fund are expected to be listed for trading "on a national securities exchange".

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