Goldman Sachs files to create an ETF dedicated to DeFi and blockchain stocks

• Goldman Sachs plans to create a DeFi and blockchain ETF, an SEC filing on Monday shows.
• It is unclear what is in Solactive's Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index, which underpins the new fund.
• The US bank's filing comes soon after it reported that 60% of super-rich family offices own crypto.

Goldman Sachs is aiming to create an exchange-traded fund focused on companies developing decentralized finance and blockchain technology, a regulatory filing shows.

In an application filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US bank said it plans to use Solactive's Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index as a benchmark for its Goldman Sachs Innovate DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF.

The new fund would invest at least 80% of its assets in stocks, securities and depositary receipts included on the underlying index, Goldman Sachs said. ETFs are products that track the performance of another index or asset, and whose shares trade just like those in a company.

"The index is designed to deliver exposure to companies that are aligned with two key themes, the implementation of blockchain technology and the digitalization of finance," it said in its filing.

To be included, a stock must have an average daily trading volume of at least $1 million and a total market cap of at least $500 million, the bank added.

By their decentralized nature, DeFi systems and products use blockchain technology to cut the middleman out of financial services. Proponents suggest they may eventually replace centralized and regulated financial institutions even for quite complex situations.

It is not clear which stocks are listed in the Solactive Decentralized Finance and Blockchain Index, as no index by that name is offered at the moment on the Frankfurt, Germany-based provider's website. Cryptonews reported that Solactive told it that Goldman Sachs was actually referring to its Blockchain Technology Performance Index, which lists companies such as Accenture and Nokia.

The bank said in its SEC filing that the proposed ETF would not be "not sponsored, promoted, sold or supported in any other manner by Solactive AG."

Goldman Sachs and Solactive declined to comment when contacted by Insider.

Last week, Goldman Sachs released a report last week that demonstrated how demand for crypto assets is growing among some of its wealthy clients. The report showed 60% of super-rich family offices owned, or invested in, crypto.

"Our conversations with family offices indicate they are interested in getting exposure not only to cryptocurrencies but also to innovation in the digital assets ecosystem," the bank said.