In the first quarter of 2026, Goldman Sachs provided a clear signal of "deleveraging and switching tracks" regarding cryptocurrency assets in its 13F mandatory disclosure report submitted to the SEC: unlike the multiple cryptocurrency-related ETFs held in Q4 of 2025, the latest report shows that it has completely cleared all XRP-related ETFs and Solana-related ETF positions in this quarter. The positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have also been simultaneously reduced, with only about $690 million in Bitcoin ETFs retained (according to a single source), and the Ethereum ETF holdings further contracted compared to the previous quarter. At the same time, Goldman Sachs is not simply exiting on-chain risks but is reducing its exposure to such ETFs while increasing its holdings in a group of cryptocurrency-related stocks, replacing the exposure of token ETFs with more regulated stocks that face less regulatory controversy: on one hand, XRP has long been embroiled in litigation with the SEC, and Solana has also been named in multiple lawsuits against trading platforms as a suspected security. In the current U.S. regulatory context, the compliance uncertainty surrounding these two types of assets is significantly higher than that for Bitcoin and Ethereum; on the other hand, the 13F, as a regulatory document with legal liabilities, forces Goldman Sachs to respond to potential future enforcement and regulatory scrutiny with a more "defensible" asset structure. For market participants, this adjustment in the 13F not only means that the weight of XRP and Solana-related ETFs in the asset allocation of leading institutions on Wall Street has been rapidly compressed but also illustrates that traditional financial institutions are re-expressing their compliance priorities and risk preferences by increasing their holdings in cryptocurrency concept stocks, retaining Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and exiting token ETFs that face greater regulatory controversy.

Goldman Sachs' significant reduction in cryptocurrency exposure revealed by 13F

From the disclosure mechanism perspective, the 13F is a mandatory quarterly holding report required by the SEC for institutions managing assets over a certain scale, requiring detailed reporting of their holdings in U.S. stocks and ETFs. The document itself carries legal responsibilities, and false or significant omissions may trigger enforcement actions. This means that Goldman Sachs' any increase or decrease in cryptocurrency-related ETFs each quarter will leave a traceable regulatory "account" in the 13F, providing a relatively reliable window for observing changes in large institutions' compliance priorities and risk preferences for different tokens.

Specifically regarding the changes in exposure, according to current yet-to-be-verified statistics, Goldman Sachs was reported to hold approximately $2.36 billion in cryptocurrency-related ETFs in Q4 2025, of which about $1.1 billion was in Bitcoin ETFs, approximately $1 billion in Ethereum ETFs, about $108 million in Solana ETFs, and approximately $154 million in XRP-related ETFs, corresponding to about 0.33% of its overall investment portfolio. By Q1 2026, Goldman Sachs submitted to the SEC's 13F, indicating that it no longer discloses any XRP or Solana-related ETF holdings, confirming it has completed clearing positions in these two types of products; meanwhile, according to a single source, Goldman Sachs has reduced its Bitcoin ETF position to about $690 million and lowered its Ethereum ETF holdings, while shifting to increase holdings in some cryptocurrency-related stocks as it reduced the total amount of cryptocurrency ETFs. Overall, the 13F presents a trajectory of "further shrinking from a small exploratory allocation": cryptocurrency ETFs were already at an extremely low weight in Goldman Sachs' overall asset portfolio, and under the compounded uncertainty of regulatory compliance and internal scrutiny, this marginal exposure is being systematically compressed, retaining only varieties with relatively higher regulatory tolerance and more mature product structures.

XRP and Solana completely cleared

From the position data, Goldman Sachs' "reduction" in token categories has clear targets. In Q4 2025, Goldman Sachs disclosed approximately $154 million in XRP-related ETF exposure in its 13F and paired it with a certain scale of Solana ETFs, incorporating both into an exploratory portfolio along with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. However, by Q1 2026, in the latest 13F report submitted on May 18, XRP ETFs and Solana ETFs completely disappeared, and Goldman Sachs no longer disclosed any related positions in this regulatory document. Under information disclosure rules, this equates to a comprehensive liquidation of the two types of products. Meanwhile, the remaining cryptocurrency ETFs only consist of Bitcoin and the reduced Ethereum, and the 13F, as a legally binding mandatory disclosure, constitutes a more authoritative statement than that circulating on social media.

From a compliance perspective, Goldman Sachs' focus on "reducing" XRP and Solana is not random: XRP has long been at the center of the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, with continuous controversy over whether it constitutes a security in the U.S.; Solana has also been named in multiple SEC complaints against U.S. trading platforms as a suspected security. Although a definitive qualification covering all trading scenarios has not yet emerged, the compliance uncertainty surrounding these two types of tokens is significantly higher than that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Within large investment banks, such uncertainties are directly reflected as higher compliance costs and exposure to enforcement risks; thus, when the overall percentage of cryptocurrency ETFs is compressed, the first products to be cleared are those with the most prominent regulatory controversies. For issuers of XRP and Solana related ETFs such as Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares, Goldman Sachs’ exit means losing a significant institutional holder, potentially causing disturbances in product liquidity and management scale through secondary market sell-offs and redemption changes in the short term. More critically, it sends a signal to other Wall Street institutions: the difficulty of classifying XRP and Solana as compliant before the regulatory boundaries have clarified is increasing.

Reduction in ETFs and increase in stocks redraw participation boundaries

From the Q1 2026 13F, it can be seen that Goldman Sachs is reducing its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs while completely exiting XRP and Solana-related ETFs, simultaneously increasing some cryptocurrency-related stock positions, essentially replacing the "passive tracking of token prices through ETF exposure" with "actively selecting exposures to companies within the SEC's equity regulatory framework." For a licensed investment bank that must submit 13Fs quarterly and bear legal responsibilities, participating in the cryptocurrency industry through stocks and ETFs offers a more measurable compliance review, capital occupation, and reporting obligation, which aligns closely with the traditional institutions’ common path of "low token exposure, high compliance assets."

This boundary adjustment fundamentally changes the valuation and capital acceptance logic of different assets: for ETF issuers linked to tokens such as XRP and Solana, if large investment banks no longer regard such products as long-term allocation tools but prefer regulated stocks or products like Bitcoin and Ethereum that have relatively higher tolerances, the structure of institutional holders for the ETFs will tend to consist mainly of small and medium-sized institutions and retail, compressing valuation premiums and management fee negotiation power. Correspondingly, publicly listed mining companies, trading platforms, and infrastructure service providers incorporated into the "cryptocurrency-related stocks" basket are likely to become primary entry points for traditional capital to gain exposure to the industry, with their market value reflecting more of a dual expectation of "compliance channels + industry beta," rather than purely business fundamentals. This rebalancing from ETFs to stocks by Goldman Sachs essentially outlines a clearer and more replicable boundary for Wall Street’s participation in the cryptocurrency industry through compliant assets.

Conflicting data and the priority of regulatory disclosure

On May 18, 2026, Goldman Sachs submitted its Q1 2026 13F report to the SEC, which no longer discloses any XRP ETF or Solana ETF positions, while still retaining approximately $690 million in Bitcoin ETFs and reducing its Ethereum ETF holdings. Based on this regulatory document, Chinese media widely reported in mid-May that Goldman Sachs had "liquidated" XRP and Solana-related ETFs in Q1, interpreting it as a signal of retreat from high-risk token exposure toward more “mainstream” compliant assets. However, almost simultaneously, some English Twitter accounts still cited so-called "holding data," claiming that Goldman Sachs held approximately $153 million in XRP ETFs in Q1, creating a direct contradiction with the 13F disclosure but providing no equivalently ranked official documentation source.

In this "regulatory document vs social media/data platforms" information conflict, the priority does not present ambiguous space: the 13F is a legally binding mandatory disclosure document, and false reporting or significant omissions may trigger SEC enforcement actions. In contrast, third-party data platforms, when capturing, mapping ETF codes or differentiating product batches, inherently involve time lags and technical risks of product confusion. For institutional investors and compliance teams, if they mistakenly trust unverified Twitter screenshots or aggregated data while denying the already filed 13F with the SEC, it equates to replacing "speculative holdings" with "legally effective disclosures" in compliance judgment, not only misjudging Goldman Sachs’ true risk attitude towards XRP and Solana but also magnifying information bias that could be directly eliminated by reviewing regulatory documents in internal risk control, asset categorization, and the ranking of token investability.

The future of tokens under Wall Street's compliance hierarchy

From the Q1 2026 13F, it can be seen that Goldman Sachs chose to retain about $690 million in Bitcoin ETFs, reduce its Ethereum ETFs, and completely clear XRP and Solana-related ETFs, effectively conducting a "permissible compliance risk" ranking among tokens: while Bitcoin and Ethereum may not be excluded from future re-examination in the American regulatory discourse, they currently have higher institutional tolerance and a more mature ETF/ETP product ecosystem. In contrast, XRP has long been embroiled in the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, and Solana has been identified as a suspected security in multiple SEC lawsuits, leaving the securities attributes and compliance boundaries of both highly uncertain in the U.S. market. For projects that hope to enter large investment banks' "investable lists" in the future, the critical variables are no longer just technology and market capitalization, but whether the regulatory definitions are sufficiently clear, whether they can be packaged into SEC-regulated product forms, and the sustainability of these products within the mandatory disclosure system like the 13F; project parties and ETF issuers need to closely monitor the ongoing litigation related to token attributes and the SEC's approval results for more token ETFs or ETPs, while institutional investors must directly map these regulatory events as dynamic judgments on "whether a certain token can, and in what form, appear in Wall Street's asset allocation tables."

Join our community, let’s discuss and grow stronger together!
Official Telegram community: https://t.me/aicoincn
AiCoin Chinese Twitter: https://x.com/AiCoinzh
OKX benefits group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=l61eM4owQ
Binance benefits group: https://aicoin.com/link/chat?cid=ynr7d1P6Z

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。