- Goldman Sachs exited roughly $154 million in XRP ETF positions during Q1 2026
- The bank also sold all Solana exposure while maintaining $700 million in Bitcoin ETFs
- Capital rotated toward crypto infrastructure firms like Circle, Coinbase, and Galaxy Digital
Goldman Sachs significantly reduced its altcoin exposure during the first quarter of 2026, fully exiting its XRP ETF holdings and eliminating all Solana-related positions according to its latest SEC 13F filing. The move marked a major shift considering Goldman had previously been the largest institutional holder of XRP ETF products at the end of 2025.
Despite the aggressive altcoin cuts, the bank kept its roughly $700 million Bitcoin ETF position fully intact, signaling that Goldman’s crypto strategy may now be focusing far more heavily on Bitcoin and infrastructure rather than broader token exposure.
Bitcoin Stayed While Altcoins Got Cut
Goldman’s XRP-related ETF holdings previously totaled around $154 million across products tied to Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares. By the end of Q1 2026, those positions had been completely removed from the bank’s portfolio.
Ethereum exposure was also sharply reduced. Goldman reportedly cut its Ethereum ETF holdings by approximately 70%, leaving the bank with roughly $114 million in remaining ETH-related exposure.
The moves suggest Goldman is not abandoning crypto entirely, but instead narrowing its institutional focus toward Bitcoin while reducing exposure to more volatile altcoin sectors.
The Money Shifted Into Crypto Infrastructure
Interestingly, the capital did not simply leave the digital asset sector altogether. Goldman increased exposure to several crypto-related infrastructure companies, including Circle, Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Robinhood, and PayPal.
The bank reportedly boosted its Circle position by roughly 249% and increased Galaxy Digital exposure by around 205%, signaling stronger interest in the companies building the rails around crypto rather than holding large positions in the assets themselves.
For many analysts, the shift reflects a growing institutional preference for stable revenue-generating crypto businesses over direct exposure to volatile token markets.
Institutions Are Becoming More Selective
The broader takeaway from Goldman’s filing is that institutional capital may be entering a more selective phase inside crypto markets. Bitcoin continues being treated increasingly like a standalone macro asset class, while altcoin ETFs still appear to be viewed as higher-risk experimental products by some major financial firms.
Even so, XRP ETFs still attracted roughly $60 million in inflows over the past week despite Goldman’s exit, suggesting broader market demand for altcoin exposure has not disappeared entirely.
For now, Goldman’s portfolio changes look less like a rejection of crypto and more like a recalibration around where institutional conviction currently feels strongest.
