- Grayscale had discussions with both investment banks about the role.
- Goldman Sachs is in discussions with BlackRock to be an approved participant for its ETF.
In regards to a possible involvement in its planned spot Bitcoin ETF, crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments is allegedly in discussions with companies like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
Sources close to the situation told Bloomberg on January 4 that Grayscale had discussions with both investment banks about the role. It follows Grayscale’s submission of an updated S-3 application to the U.S SEC earlier this week, in which approved participants were not named.
Authorized Participants Role
An earlier report also cites persons familiar with the situation, suggesting that Goldman Sachs is in discussions with BlackRock to be an approved participant for its ETF.
In a prior S-1 filing amendment, BlackRock added quantitative trading company Jane Street and JPMorgan to the list of permitted participants for its proposed ETF. Because it allows for the issuance and redemption of fund shares, an authorized participant is an essential member of an ETF’s management team. A number of financial institutions may be designated by an ETF issuer to participate as approved participants.
Other financial institutions might still join ETFs as applicants aren’t obligated to identify approved participants in their S-1 or S-3 filings. Goldman Sachs may follow in the footsteps of other Wall Street behemoths like Cantor Fitzgerald and Jane Street, who have been appointed as approved participants for various exchange-traded funds (ETFs), even though JPMorgan has already been listed as an authorized participant for other anticipated spot Bitcoin ETFs.
A Bitcoin ETF clearance, according to Goldman Sach’s head of digital assets Matthew McDermott, who spoke with Fox Business on December 27th, would facilitate the maturation of the crypto market and encourage greater institutional investment in digital assets generally.
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