Goldman Sachs is acquiring NEOS Investments in a deal worth up to $2.25 billion, gaining control of three crypto-linked income ETFs — including a fund with more than $1 billion in net assets. The transaction positions the Wall Street bank in direct competition with BlackRock in the rapidly expanding Bitcoin income ETF market, a niche that has gained traction as investors seek yield-generating crypto exposure alongside traditional spot holdings.

Goldman Gains Three Crypto Income ETFs

NEOS, a specialized options-based ETF provider, operates three crypto-linked funds that will transfer to Goldman Sachs upon closing: the Neos Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI), the Neos Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI), and the Neos Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI).

Rather than holding Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) directly, the funds gain exposure through listed products linked to the underlying assets and generate monthly income using options strategies. These funds sell call options on their holdings to collect premium income distributed monthly to shareholders — a structure that sacrifices a portion of the underlying asset's upside during price rallies in exchange for regular yield.

BTCI is the largest of the three, with net assets exceeding $1 billion. XBCI holds approximately $111 million, and NEHI approximately $77 million, according to NEOS's website.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon said NEOS's "disciplined investment approach" complements the bank's capabilities in buffering, performance management, and income strategies.

Goldman Could Overtake BlackRock in Bitcoin Income ETFs

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on X that BTCI's scale could enable Goldman Sachs to surpass BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), which launched in June and holds approximately $59 million in net assets. According to Balchunas, acquiring NEOS provides Goldman a faster path to scale than launching a competing product from scratch — and explains why Goldman never moved forward with a Bitcoin covered call ETF it had previously filed to launch.

Goldman will get $BTCI in the Neos deal, which is a $1b bitcoin premium income ETF, yields 27% and captures most but not all of bitcoins run-ups. Nowww I get why GS never launched the btc covered call product they filed months ago. Better to leap frog BlackRock's $BITA vs me too pic.twitter.com/kCeuAAqiQo — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 12, 2026

As of June 30, NEOS managed $30 billion in assets across 19 option-based income ETFs. Combined with Goldman Sachs and its subsidiary Innovator, the merged entity's ETF assets under management will exceed $130 billion.

Goldman's Broader Active ETF Push

The NEOS acquisition follows Goldman Sachs' wider expansion into active ETFs. The bank also acquired Innovator Capital Management in 2026 in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. Together, these acquisitions reflect a broader trend among major Wall Street banks to scale their ETF platforms through deals rather than organic product development alone.

The combined businesses will make Goldman Sachs the world's eighth-largest active ETF manager by assets as of June 30, according to Morningstar data cited in the acquisition coverage.

By acquiring an established Bitcoin income ETF rather than building a competing product independently, Goldman Sachs gains immediate scale in a growing crypto-ETF niche while stepping into more direct competition with BlackRock.

Source: DailyCoin

Goldman Sachs official announcement: goldmansachs.com

Eric Balchunas on X: x.com/EricBalchunas