BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF is backed by Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs.

Several major U.S. banks have been added as partners to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF since the product launched last January. This includes prominent Wall Street moguls who previously scoffed at cryptocurrencies for years.

In a post-effective amendment filed on Friday, BlackRock designated Citadel, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Citigroup as “accredited participants” in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Authorized participants are responsible for creating and redeeming shares of the fund to keep the price of IBIT equal to the price of Bitcoin (BTC).

BlackRock confirmed. decryption A new bank has been added as an approved participant.

“Additional Authorized Participants may be added at any time at the discretion of the Sponsor,” BlackRock’s revised prospectus says.

Four new banks join the already prestigious list, including ABN AMRO, JP Morgan, Jane Street, Macquarie Capital and Virtu. The banks were named partners in BlackRock’s Jan. 10 prospectus, a day before the fund was officially launched.

While rumors of new additions are currently swirling, filings show Goldman, UBS and Citigroup were added as approved participants as early as March 4. Rumors have been circulating for months that Goldman Sachs could join both BlackRock and Grayscale.

The latter addition is clearly at odds with the bank’s management’s opinions on the cryptocurrency industry. In a recent interview, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, CIO of the bank’s asset management division, said cryptocurrencies “are not an investment asset class” and that he and the bank’s clients “don’t believe in cryptocurrencies.”

That said, Goldman Sachs also has a dedicated digital assets unit, and Max Milton, who heads Asia Pacific, said last month that “our biggest clients are active or seeking to be active in this space.”

Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to this. decryptionThis is a request for your opinion.

Meanwhile, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who runs a competing Bitcoin ETF, cited large demand from both retail customers and hedge funds and said ETF growth “will continue for several years” as national account platforms slowly embrace the product. “He said.

“The takeaway: Big companies now want some action, and it’s okay to be publicly associated with it.” said said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on Friday.

The Bitcoin ETF has absorbed more than $12 billion in net flows since its launch on January 11. BlackRock’s ETFs currently hold more than $16 billion in assets.

Editor: Andrew Hayward