PANews reported on December 2nd that Goldman Sachs' acquisition of ETF issuer Innovator Capital for approximately $2 billion could shake up the entire cryptocurrency industry, particularly the ETF sector. In a statement following the deal announcement, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said, "Actively managed ETFs are dynamic, transformative, and one of the fastest-growing segments of the publicly traded market today. Through the acquisition of Innovator, Goldman Sachs will expand its coverage of modern, world-class investment products." Innovator CEO Bruce Bond stated, "Goldman Sachs has a long history of understanding emerging trends and significant directional shifts in the asset management industry." These statements clearly demonstrate Goldman Sachs' vision for the ETF industry: building a truly "modern" platform based on investor needs, investing in emerging trends. This could ultimately include digital assets.
It's worth noting that Goldman Sachs is already a licensed participant in major spot Bitcoin ETFs, including those from BlackRock and Grayscale, facilitating their daily trading. While Innovator primarily focuses on target-return ETFs, it has addressed the growing demand for cryptocurrency investment through structured ETFs that provide investors with Bitcoin exposure through risk management strategies. However, critics argue that while Wall Street's involvement in cryptocurrency ETFs can bring scale and liquidity, it may deviate from the original principles of cryptocurrencies, and ETFs should not be the ultimate goal.

Robinhood acquired an Indonesian brokerage and digital asset trading firm to access a market with 17 million crypto investors. Crypto and stock trading platform Robinhood is set to tap into Indonesia’s burgeoning cryptocurrency trading market after an agreement to acquire two local fintech companies.In an announcement on Sunday, Robinhood said it has entered into agreements to acquire Buana Capital, an Indonesian brokerage, and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, a licensed Indonesian digital financial asset trader, “marking our entry into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing markets.”It said that Indonesia has more than 19 million capital market investors and 17 million crypto investors, making it a “compelling market for equities and crypto trading.”Read more

