Goldman Sachs files with SEC to create a ‘DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF’

Wall Street megabank is planning to create an exchange-traded fund tied to the performance of companies that are working on blockchain technology and the digitization of finance, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Per the filing, the fund “seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Solactive Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index (the “Index”).” What that index is comprised of is unclear; an index with that name is not included on Solactive’s list of active indices. However, Solactive maintains an array of indices related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

“The Index is designed to deliver exposure to companies that are aligned with two key themes, the implementation of Blockchain Technology and the Digitalization of Finance (the “Themes”),” per the filing.

Goldman’s use of the term “DeFi” relates to the “Digitalization of Finance,” according to the filing, “defined as the digital transformation of traditional financial services, including the support and delivery of payments, transaction services, lending and insurance.”

“The eligible universe of stocks is comprised of common equity securities, including depositary receipts, of companies located across developed and emerging markets worldwide, listed and traded on major exchanges in certain developed markets, including: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States,” the filing notes.

Still, the filing indicates that Goldman is looking for different ways to tap demand for exposure in various forms to the crypto space. Earlier this month, Goldman made public the results of a survey that found 15% of surveyed family offices are invested in crypto.