Goldman Sachs Follows Morgan Stanley as Latest to Prep Bitcoin ETF

What do you get when you mix two fund categories with enough rizz for an investment bank led by a DJ?

The Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday for what would be its entry into the crypto ETF world. And it’s not a basic spot-price fund aimed to compete with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) or Morgan Stanley’s new low-cost Bitcoin Trust ETF (MSBT). Rather, this entry in the game of variations on crypto invests in spot bitcoin funds and uses options to generate income, which could be alluring to some of Goldman’s well-heeled clientele.

“We affectionately call it ‘boomer candy.’ These products are irresistible if you’re in that category,” Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said, citing products like the $45 billion JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI). Slightly older, high-net-worth investors like the idea of bitcoin, but may be nervous about the volatility, which makes derivative-income products a way in. “They have a lot of money but not a lot of time,” he said. “They’re happy to give up some upside for some protection.”

Is the Party Just Getting Started?

Goldman CEO David Solomon, who has successfully moonlighted as DJ D-SOL, has been skeptical about crypto (though he told Bloomberg in February that he owned a small amount of bitcoin). And it was just last week that another bank-affiliated manager, Morgan Stanley, made its foray into the crypto exchange-traded product market, launching a spot-price fund with the lowest fees out there. That company has two major things in its favor: Price advantage and a vast distribution network of advisors. The first incursion of a bank into this corner of the market may have influenced Goldman’s decision. “Wirehouses are hurrying to create crypto ETFs so they can capture some of the trillions of dollars that will be flowing into this asset class over the next decade,” said Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals. “We’re witnessing the flywheel effect: As each firm launches funds and encourages their advisors to recommend and their clients to buy, assets flow in – spurring other firms to do likewise.”

Still, it’s somewhat surprising that Goldman does not appear to be planning a spot-price ETF to go along with the premium income fund, said Todd Sohn, chief ETF strategist for Strategas. The view may be that the spot product category is crowded. “On the other hand, income funds are still a massive corner of the ETF industry, and crypto itself remains another growth area, so combining those two makes sense,” he said. “If you can’t go spot, the income route is arguably the next best route.”

Where the trends meet:

• Derivative-income ETFs brought in $17 billion in flows during the first three months of 2026, as well as nearly $58 billion over 12 months, representing one of the fastest-selling fund categories, per data from Morningstar Direct.
• Meanwhile, digital-assets ETFs pulled in just $133 million this year through March, but more than $40 billion over 12 months, a reflection of falling prices that started late last year.

Flip Side: Goldman’s fund, which does not yet have a ticker or fee information, isn’t for crypto diehards, Balchunas said. “Nobody who wants bitcoin will buy this; nobody who wants the upside,” he said, adding there is a real market for bitcoin ETFs. “It helps to be a big issuer with some distribution,” he said. “Those two things pretty much equal some success. ‘How much?’ is the question.”