The revolution is not yet successful! Fidelity and Goldman Sachs successively apply for Bitcoin ETF and ETF linked notes
Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejecting all cryptocurrency ETF proposals in the past, this has not stopped Wall Street institutions from continuing their efforts, with asset management giant Fidelity and investment bank Goldman Sachs each submitting applications.
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Fidelity
According to SEC documents, the ETF is named "Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust," with FD Funds Management as the sponsor and Fidelity serving as the custodian.
It was reported in August last year that Fidelity launched its first Bitcoin fund, a passive fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin, limited to qualified investors with a minimum investment of $100,000.
The passive fund, "Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I," is closely related to this ETF's name.
The ETF will track Bitcoin's performance through Fidelity's Bitcoin price index. Fidelity stated:
In recent years, the digital asset ecosystem has grown significantly, the trading market has become more robust, and there has been an increase in institutional investment demand. More investors seeking Bitcoin emphasize the need for portfolio diversification.
Goldman Sachs
Compared to Fidelity, which has long been involved in cryptocurrency exchanges and mining businesses and has repeatedly expressed optimism about Bitcoin, Goldman Sachs' entry appears more ironic. In a investor call held in May last year, Goldman Sachs harshly criticized:
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin can hardly be considered an asset class, unlike bonds that provide cash flow, cannot generate revenue through global economic growth, fuel Ponzi schemes and illegal activities, and do not have gold's inflation hedging ability. Its value mainly depends on whether others are willing to pay a higher price for it, which is not a suitable investment for our clients.
According to its filing documents, Goldman Sachs has launched Equity Linked Notes (ELNs) tied to an ETF tracking the ARK Innovation ETF from Ark ETF Trust. The documents state:
The ETF issued by ARK ETF Trust can indirectly provide holdings of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but cryptocurrency holdings may change over time and may not always exist in the ETF's investment portfolio.
The new products from Fidelity and Goldman Sachs represent multiple efforts by U.S. investment banks, including previous ones by institutions such as VanEck, NYDIG, SkyBridge Capital, Bitwise, and others.