Goldman Sachs is acquiring NEOS Investments, the firm behind BTCI, a $1.1 billion bitcoin synthetic exchange-traded fund that yields roughly 27%, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Goldman said the cash-and-equity deal values NEOS at up to $2.25 billion, is subject to performance targets and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approval. BTCI launched in October 2024 and crossed $1 billion in assets in under two years, Balchunas said. He added that the fund holds spot bitcoin exchange-traded products and sells call options against those positions to generate monthly distributions, meaning investors receive income but give up some upside when bitcoin rallies. Balchunas said that structure mirrors a Bitcoin premium income ETF Goldman filed to launch four months ago, when it registered the Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF with the SEC on April 14. The analyst said the acquisition helps explain why Goldman never brought that product to market and suggests the bank is expanding its ETF franchise more broadly. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Innovator from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and NEOS managed more than $130 billion in ETF assets under supervision as of June 30, 2026, according to the bank. BlackRock launched its own bitcoin income ETF, BITA, on Nasdaq on June 16, targeting a 15% to 25% annual yield and selling covered calls on 25% to 35% of its IBIT holdings, with a 0.65% expense ratio. BTCI charges 0.99% and has fallen 42.55% over the past year, dropping from a 52-week high of $65.87 to about $28.40, according to Bloomberg terminal data shared by Balchunas. Its SEC prospectus says distributions may partly be a return of capital rather than net investment income, a point income investors may need to consider.