The recent departure of Eli Tan from Goldman Sachs to join Coins.ph as Vice President of Operations highlights the ongoing shift of traditional finance professionals toward cryptocurrency. According to CoinJournal, Tan left 7 years at Goldman Sachs for the blockchain world, working at Binance before his current role at the Philippines-based exchange. His transition occurred before crypto broke onto mainstream during the COVID pandemic, when such moves were still considered 'frowned upon' in traditional finance circles. The move reflects the evolving attitudes toward cryptocurrency as a legitimate career path, particularly as the industry has matured and gained broader acceptance.
According to reports from Bloomberg Intelligence, Goldman Sachs reported a $153.8 million position in XRP ETFs as of December 31, 2025, spread across four separate funds. The breakdown included approximately $40 million in Bitwise's XRP ETF, $38.5 million in the Franklin XRP Trust, $38 million in Grayscale's XRP fund, and $36 million in the 21Shares product. This position made Goldman the single largest disclosed institutional holder of XRP ETF shares in the United States, representing roughly 73% of the top 30 institutions' combined exposure with just over $211 million in total XRP ETF exposure across all holders.
As reported by multiple sources, the market interpreted Goldman's initial filing as a powerful institutional endorsement of XRP, arriving during a period when retail sentiment was mired in extreme fear. The filing became public in February 2026, driving headlines into March, but the position it described was already two to three months stale by the time the market reacted to it. The snapshot captured Goldman's position at the end of a quarter when XRP was trading materially higher, having peaked near $2.40 in early January 2026, before the token declined more than 40% through the first quarter as the broader market weakened.
According to Goldman's first-quarter 2026 13F filing disclosed in May, the bank had completely exited its XRP ETF position and Solana ETF holdings entirely. The bank also trimmed its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF exposure, but notably increased stakes in crypto-related companies by as much as 249%, including positions in Circle, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase. This rotation from direct token exposure through altcoin ETFs to the equities of crypto-related companies reflects a strategic preference for owning the businesses that monetize crypto activity rather than betting on volatile token prices.
As reported by Ripple, approximately 84% of U.S. XRP ETF assets are held by retail investors, contrasting sharply with Solana ETF products where institutional participation runs closer to half. Despite the institutional framing encouraged by the Goldman headline, XRP ETFs launched in late 2025 and accumulated assets quickly, crossing $1 billion in cumulative inflows by mid-December and surpassing $1.5 billion by early March 2026. However, by mid-2026, total XRP ETF assets under management had fallen back to roughly $1 billion, well below the peak, as inflows slowed dramatically and the token's price decline eroded holdings.
