Goldman Sachs sharply reduced its cryptocurrency ETF exposure in the first quarter of 2026, fully exiting its positions in XRP and Solana-linked funds while trimming its Bitcoin and Ether ETF holdings and reshaping its crypto equity bets — a significant pullback from one of Wall Street's most closely watched institutional crypto allocators.
The moves were disclosed in the bank's Q1 2026 Form 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which provides a quarterly snapshot of major institutional asset managers' holdings across publicly traded investment products.
XRP ETFs: a complete exit from $154 million in positions
No XRP-linked ETFs appeared anywhere in Goldman Sachs' Q1 filing — a complete reversal from Q4 2025, when the bank reported holding nearly $154 million worth of XRP-related ETFs across products from multiple issuers. As of December 31, 2025, Goldman Sachs had been the largest institutional holder of XRP-related ETFs among tracked filers.
The exit is notable in its timing. XRP ETFs first hit the market in mid-November 2025 as issuers raced to bring new altcoin products to investors following the success of Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs. Goldman Sachs built a significant position in the products within weeks of their launch — and fully unwound that position within a single quarter, suggesting the initial allocation was tactical rather than strategic.
Solana ETFs: another full exit
Goldman Sachs also eliminated its entire reported exposure to Solana-linked ETFs in Q1. The bank had previously held positions in multiple Solana products that launched in late October 2025, with additional funds rolling out through November. All three positions were fully exited by the end of Q1 2026.
Together, the XRP and Solana exits represent a complete withdrawal from the most recently launched wave of altcoin ETF products — a pattern that suggests Goldman Sachs treated the initial allocations as exploratory positioning in new products rather than a commitment to long-term altcoin ETF exposure.
Bitcoin ETFs: still over $700 million but trimmed by 10%
Despite the clean exits from XRP and Solana, Goldman Sachs maintained significant exposure to Bitcoin ETFs — though at reduced levels. The bank held approximately $690 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and another $25 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund at the end of Q1, after reducing both positions by roughly 10% during the quarter. Combined, the two positions represent more than $715 million in reported Bitcoin ETF exposure — still among the largest institutional Bitcoin ETF allocations on record.
Ether ETFs: cut by 70%
The most dramatic reduction among major crypto ETF positions was in Ether. Goldman Sachs cut its position in the iShares Ethereum Trust by approximately 70% during the quarter, leaving it with roughly 7.2 million shares valued at around $114 million. The scale of the reduction — nearly three-quarters of the position exited in a single quarter — mirrors the broader trend visible in the ETH/BTC ratio, which hit ten-month lows in May as institutional capital continued to favor Bitcoin over Ether through regulated vehicles.
Crypto equities: rotating toward exchanges, payments, and fintech
While Goldman Sachs was reducing ETF exposure across multiple asset classes, it was simultaneously increasing stakes in crypto-linked equities — suggesting a rotation toward company exposure rather than direct asset exposure through funds.
The bank's most significant equity additions included a 249% increase in Circle Internet Group and a 205% rise in Galaxy Digital. It also added to positions in Coinbase, Robinhood Markets, and PayPal during the quarter — a combination that skews toward crypto infrastructure, exchanges, and payment rails rather than pure Bitcoin treasury or mining plays.
On the reduction side, Goldman Sachs cut stakes in several mining and infrastructure names including BitMine Immersion Technologies, Bit Digital, and Riot Platforms, while also reducing positions in Strategy and IREN.
What the filing signals
Goldman Sachs' Q1 filing tells a nuanced story about how one of Wall Street's most sophisticated institutional allocators is thinking about crypto exposure. The full exit from XRP and Solana ETFs — products the bank had been among the first to build meaningful positions in — suggests those allocations were exploratory rather than conviction-driven, and that the bank was unwilling to maintain positions through a quarter that saw both assets underperform Bitcoin significantly.
The retention of over $715 million in Bitcoin ETF exposure, even after a 10% trim, confirms that Bitcoin remains the institutional anchor of Goldman's crypto allocation. The shift toward crypto equity names — particularly exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and payment platforms — points to a view that the infrastructure and regulatory beneficiaries of crypto's institutionalization may offer more attractive risk-adjusted returns than altcoin spot exposure through ETFs at current valuations.
Anais
Weatherly