Goldman Sachs, an American banking and investment group, completely liquidated its exposure to XRP and solana (SOL) through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), institutional records for the first quarter of 2026 show.
As can be seen in the form 13-F published on May 15, 2026, Goldman Sachs closed positions in Bitwise XRP ETF, Franklin XRP Trust, Grayscale XRP Trust ETF and 21Shares XRP ETF. The tables show 100% outflows between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
The same movement is observed in solana, where The entity divested products such as Grayscale Solana Trust, Fidelity Solana Fund, VanEck Solana Trust and 21Shares Solana ETF.
Regarding ether (ETH), the bank also trimmed positions. As seen in the following table, sold about 74% of its holding in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA)and completely liquidated its exposure to the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH).
At the same time, he opened a new position in iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), also managed by BlackRock, incorporating approximately 2.48 million shares valued at approximately $66.8 million.
Unlike a traditional ETF, this instrument incorporates staking, i.e. the fund manager himself blocks part of the ETH held in custody to participate in the validation of the Ethereum network and generate additional performance through rewards, as reported by CriptoNoticias. Additionally, Goldman maintained exposure through financial options on ETHA.
Also, Goldman Sachs still holds nearly $700 million in bitcoin (BTC) ETFswhich confirms that this asset continues to concentrate most of its exposure to digital assets.
The sell-off of XRP and SOL generated negative interpretations within the market. However, Dom Kwok, co-founder of the educational platform EasyA, held that these positions did not necessarily reflect a directional bet by Goldman Sachs on those cryptocurrencies.
As he explained, “the initial holdings of XRP and SOL were intended to facilitate client needs, such as creation and redemption of ETFs, market-making or prime activity brokerage“. That is to say, could have been operating positions used to issue or withdraw ETF sharesprovide liquidity to the market by buying and selling assets, or provide services to institutional clients.
Along those lines, Kwok stated that “they were not investments held because Goldman was particularly bullish on XRP or SOL,” but rather part of a routine rebalancing.
The move shows that, while bitcoin retains a dominant place within Goldman Sachs’ institutional exposure, other digital assets remain subject to tactical adjustments linked to trading, liquidity and client demand.