Goldman Sachs Joins BlackRock Bitcoin ETF: A Game Changer

The recent announcement of Goldman Sachs being named as an authorized participant for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF marks a significant milestone in the world of cryptocurrency and traditional finance. This move signifies a growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class by major financial institutions.

Investment giant BlackRock Inc. BLK has broadened the network of Authorized Participants (APs) for IBIT, its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. BlackRock, touted as the world’s largest asset manager, now counts Citi, Citadel, Goldman Sachs, and UBS among its APs for its spot Bitcoin ETF offering. BlackRock has added Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, UBS, Citadel Securities and ABN AMRO as authorized participants for the iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Goldman Sachs has been added into the list of authorized partners for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, marking a significant shift in the banking giant's view of Bitcoin. This brings the total number of authorized participants and strengthens the ETF's liquidity and accessibility. Rumors that Goldman Sachs could join in with both BlackRock and Grayscale have been circulating for months.

The impact of Goldman Sachs' involvement is already being felt. The Goldman Sachs increased its stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust to 30.8 million shares worth over $1.4 billion. IBIT leads Bitcoin ETFs with approximately $62.8 billion in assets under management.

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs is now the largest holder of shares of IBIT, BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, after boosting its holdings by 28% over the course of 2025’s first quarter. The latter’s addition is apparently at odds with the opinions Goldman Sachs. The expanded AP network will further streamline the process for creating and redeeming ETF shares, benefiting investors and potentially driving further adoption of Bitcoin ETFs.