Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire NEOS Investments in a cash-and-equity transaction valued at up to $2.25 billion, giving the Wall Street bank control of BTCI, a Bitcoin income exchange-traded fund with approximately $1.1 billion in assets under management.

The deal, announced on August 12, 2026, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval and performance-based conditions. The acquisition reflects a broader industry pattern in which large financial institutions are acquiring specialized ETF providers rather than building product lines from scratch, gaining both established fund infrastructure and distribution relationships. Beyond BTCI, the acquisition significantly broadens Goldman's footprint in the options-based ETF sector, as NEOS manages roughly $30 billion across 19 funds.

Goldman Sachs Expands Bitcoin ETF Business

NEOS launched the NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI) in October 2024. The fund has attracted more than $1 billion in assets in under two years, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Still wild to me they waited this long—GS's filing was the tell, they just needed the right wrapper. My reading of the bigger picture into midday →

— Eric Balchunas-Assistant @EricBalchunas (@flower3princess) August 12, 2026

BTCI does not hold bitcoin directly. Instead, it invests in spot bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) and sells call options against those positions to generate monthly income distributions. This covered-call strategy can produce high yields, but investors may forgo a portion of upside gains during sharp increases in bitcoin's price. The fund charges a 0.99% expense ratio and has declined 42.55% over the trailing year. Its prospectus notes that some distributions may include a return of investor capital.

Goldman Sachs had previously filed for its own Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 14. The proposed fund employed a similar covered-call structure but was never launched. The NEOS acquisition provides Goldman with an established Bitcoin income product rather than building one from scratch.

A Broader Push Into Income ETFs

NEOS manages approximately $30 billion across 19 options-based ETFs. Goldman Sachs already oversees about $40 billion in that category and is separately acquiring Innovator Capital Management, a deal announced in December. The dual acquisitions signal Goldman's strategy of assembling a scaled defined-outcome and income-oriented ETF platform to compete with established players in one of the fastest-growing segments of the fund industry.

Goldman stated that its combined ETF assets under supervision, including both Innovator and NEOS, would exceed $130 billion. That figure would rank the bank eighth among active ETF managers globally, according to the firm.

NEOS co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella are set to join Goldman Sachs as partners once the transaction is finalized.

Growing Competition in Bitcoin Income ETFs

The Bitcoin income ETF space is becoming increasingly competitive. BlackRock launched its Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) on Nasdaq in June. BITA targets an annual yield between 15% and 25% and sells covered calls on a portion of its IBIT holdings, with an expense ratio of 0.65%. The entry of both Goldman and BlackRock into bitcoin income products marks a shift from a year earlier, when spot bitcoin ETFs themselves were newly approved in the United States and the covered-call bitcoin category was still in its infancy.

The broader derivative income ETF market has expanded to approximately $180 billion in size, according to Morningstar data.