02/14 update below. This post was originally published on February 13
Bitcoin and ethereum have diverged in recent months, with the bitcoin price soaring as ethereum struggles—helped by U.S. president Donald Trump’s predicted plans for bitcoin.
Unlock over $3,000 in NFT, web3 and crypto perks — Apply now!
The bitcoin price is hovering just under $100,000 per bitcoin after coming within touching distance of $110,000 around mid January while ethereum has fallen sharply from its recent December peak as “dangerous” bubble fears emerge.
Now, as a Coinbase executive claims Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity may already be known, Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has quietly confirmed its bought around $2 billion of bitcoin and ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Sign up now for the free CryptoCodex—A daily five-minute newsletter for traders, investors and the crypto-curious that will get you up to date and keep you ahead of the bitcoin and crypto market bull run
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and ethereum … [+]
Goldman Sachs loaded up on bitcoin and ethereum ETFs in the fourth quarter, increasing its ethereum ETF holdings by 2,000% and growing its bitcoin ETF holding to over $1.5 billion, according to a regulatory filing.
The funds bought by Goldman Sachs included BlackRock’s bitcoin and etheruem ETFs, as well as funds controlled by Fidelity and Grayscale.
02/14 update: Crypto prices have climbed over the last 24 hours, with small gains for bitcoin and ethereum being dwarfed by Ripple’s XRP, which has surged 10% after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acknowledged filings from crypto asset manager Grayscale to list spot XRP and the memecoin dogecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
“While this doesn’t guarantee approval, it begins a process for public feedback,” analysts with Tagus Capital wrote in an emailed note.
“Grayscale’s XRP ETF, filed in January and amended in February, is now under review with up to a 240-day approval period. The SEC’s acknowledgment is seen as a positive shift from its previous stance, as it shows openness to these products.”
The race for the next U.S. spot crypto ETF is now between bitcoin offshoot litecoin, ethereum rival solana, XRP and dogecoin, with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas predicting earlier this month that XRP and dogecoin ETF bids have a 65% and 75% chance of being approved before the end of 2025.
BlackRock led a campaign to get a spot bitcoin ETF approved in the U.S. through 2023, with a fleet of bitcoin funds making their debut in January 2024 before surging to become some of the fastest growing ETFs of all time.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs broke $100 billion in net assets for the first time in November, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) which now has just over $60 billion in assets under management.
However, the importance of Goldman’s bet on bitcoin and ethereum via ETFs has been played down one analyst.
Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free, daily newsletter for the crypto-curious
The bitcoin price has rocketed over the last year, helped by Wall Street adoption and Donald Trump’s … [+]
“This position by Goldman Sachs, similar to many other banks and hedge funds, is not a net long position,” said Coindesk senior analyst James Van Straten.
“This is a strategy that reflects the basis trade, also known as the cash and carry trade, balancing potential profits and risks for bitcoin price fluctuations. The ETFs recently had options approved on them so this is most likely directional hedging.”
Last month, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink revealed he’s had discussions with sovereign wealth funds about buying bitcoin and predicted such conversations could catapult the bitcoin price to $700,000 per bitcoin.
“If everyone adopted that conversation, it would be $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 per bitcoin,” Fink, who led the Wall Street rush into bitcoin and crypto last year via a fleet of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), told Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
