Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told attendees at the World Liberty Forum in Palm Beach on February 18, 2026 that he personally owns "very little, but some" bitcoin, marking the first time the head of Wall Street's most prestigious investment bank has publicly acknowledged a personal crypto position.
The admission arrived alongside a broader signal: Goldman is actively exploring how tokenization, stablecoins, and prediction markets can "expand or accelerate" the firm's business. And the bank's most recent SEC filing shows it already holds $2.36 billion in digital asset exposure as of December 31, 2025, making the CEO's cautious personal disclosure look almost quaint next to the institution's actual positioning.
The CEO Who Called Himself "An Observer" Already Runs a Billion-Dollar Crypto Book
Solomon described himself as "an observer of bitcoin" who is "still trying to understand how it moves." That framing understates the reality of Goldman's balance sheet. The bank's Q4 2025 13F filing revealed $1.06 billion in Bitcoin ETF holdings across multiple funds, including a significant position in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust. Ethereum exposure reached approximately $1 billion. And in a move that went largely unnoticed at the time, Goldman deployed $261 million into brand-new XRP ($153 million) and Solana ($108 million) positions during Q4 2025.
The total $2.36 billion crypto allocation represents 0.33% of the firm's investment portfolio. That fraction sounds small until you consider the denominator: Goldman manages assets measured in the hundreds of billions. At current prices as of February 18, 2026, the bank's Bitcoin ETF position alone would make it one of the largest institutional holders through regulated vehicles.
The Q4 filing also showed a deliberate rotation. Bitcoin ETF shares dropped 39.4% quarter-over-quarter, from roughly 35 million to 21.2 million shares. Ethereum ETF shares fell 27.2%. But the simultaneous entry into XRP and Solana ETFs suggests Goldman isn't retreating from crypto. It's diversifying within it.
"Until 10 Minutes Ago, the Regulatory Structure Was Extremely Prohibitive"
Solomon's sharpest remarks at the World Liberty Forum targeted regulation. "Until 10 minutes ago, the regulatory structure was extremely prohibitive," he said, noting that burdensome rules "extract capital" from the financial system. The comment referenced years of restrictions that kept Goldman and its peers from directly trading or holding digital assets on their balance sheets.
He rejected the idea that traditional banks and crypto firms are competitors. "It's one system, it's our system," Solomon said, framing the relationship as evolutionary rather than adversarial. The subtext: Goldman views crypto infrastructure not as a threat to displace, but as a capability to absorb.
This stance matters because Goldman's compliance posture has historically been the most conservative among the big banks. While JPMorgan built its Onyx blockchain platform and Morgan Stanley offered Bitcoin fund access to wealth management clients, Goldman largely sat on the sidelines, citing regulatory uncertainty. Solomon's Palm Beach remarks suggest that the regulatory thaw under the current administration, including the advancing CLARITY Act, is giving the bank's internal teams the green light to move faster.
Tokenization Gets the "Super Important" Label
Solomon singled out tokenization as "super important" to market evolution. This is not new territory for Goldman. In 2024, the bank used its digital assets platform to arrange a 100 million euro two-year digital bond for the European Investment Bank alongside two partner banks, settling the entire transaction in 60 seconds instead of the typical five days.
That bond settlement speed is the selling point Goldman keeps returning to. In a world where trillions of dollars in securities change hands daily, shaving days off settlement means freeing up billions in collateral that would otherwise sit frozen in clearing systems. The tokenization thesis is not about retail investors buying fractional shares of art. It's about rewiring the plumbing of institutional finance.
Goldman's interest in prediction markets adds another dimension. Solomon confirmed he has personally met with "the two big prediction companies and their leadership," a clear reference to Kalshi and Polymarket. The bank is exploring how prediction market infrastructure could serve institutional clients, particularly for hedging and price discovery on non-traditional outcomes.
What This Means for Crypto Card Holders and Everyday Users
When the CEO of Goldman Sachs publicly admits to holding Bitcoin, it sends a signal that ripples far beyond institutional trading desks. It validates the asset class for the wealth management ecosystem that Goldman dominates: high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and pension fund advisers who take cues from Wall Street leadership.
For users of crypto cards and digital asset platforms, Goldman's deepening involvement accelerates two trends. First, the regulatory clarity that Solomon credits for Goldman's shift also benefits consumer-facing crypto products. The same frameworks allowing Goldman to hold Bitcoin ETFs are enabling companies like Coinbase and Kraken to expand lending, staking, and card products with more confidence.
Second, Goldman's $108 million Solana bet signals institutional confidence in the chains powering many self-custody card products. Solana-based cards from Jupiter, KAST, and others benefit when a firm like Goldman validates their underlying network.
The Rotation That Tells the Real Story
The headline is that Solomon owns bitcoin. The story beneath the headline is the $261 million altcoin pivot. Goldman didn't just trim Bitcoin and Ethereum. It redeployed into XRP across four separate ETF issuers (21Shares, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale) and built Solana positions through Bitwise's staking ETF, Grayscale's trust, and additional allocations with Fidelity, VanEck, 21Shares, and Franklin Templeton.
This diversification strategy mirrors what retail investors have been doing for years, spreading exposure across multiple assets and issuers to manage concentration risk. The difference is scale. Goldman's $153 million XRP allocation alone exceeds the total AUM of many standalone crypto funds.
The bank's rotation also reflects a view on where crypto infrastructure is headed. XRP's cross-border payment rails and Solana's high-throughput execution layer both represent functional utility beyond store-of-value narratives. Goldman appears to be betting that the next wave of institutional crypto adoption will be driven by usage, not just price appreciation.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi sovereign funds held over $1 billion in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF at year-end 2025, and Harvard opened its first Ethereum position worth $87 million. Goldman is not an outlier. It's joining a stampede.
FAQ
How much Bitcoin does Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon personally own? Solomon described his personal holdings as "very little, but some" bitcoin. He did not disclose a specific amount. The comment was made at the World Liberty Forum in Palm Beach on February 18, 2026.
What is Goldman Sachs' total crypto exposure? As of December 31, 2025, Goldman's 13F filing showed $2.36 billion in digital asset exposure: approximately $1.06 billion in Bitcoin ETFs, $1 billion in Ethereum ETFs, $153 million in XRP ETFs, and $108 million in Solana ETFs. This represents 0.33% of the firm's total investment portfolio.
Can Goldman Sachs buy and hold Bitcoin directly? No. Solomon stated at the forum that "from a regulatory perspective, we still can't own, can't principal and can't be involved with" Bitcoin directly. Goldman accesses crypto exposure through regulated ETF vehicles, not direct holdings.
Why did Goldman Sachs cut its Bitcoin ETF holdings in Q4 2025? Goldman reduced Bitcoin ETF shares by 39.4% and Ethereum ETF shares by 27.2% during Q4 2025, a period when Bitcoin fell roughly 30% from $126,000 to $88,000. The bank simultaneously opened new positions in XRP and Solana, suggesting a rotation rather than a retreat from crypto.
Overview
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon's public admission that he holds bitcoin, delivered at the World Liberty Forum in Palm Beach on February 18, 2026, punctuates a broader shift at Wall Street's most prestigious bank. Goldman's 13F filing reveals $2.36 billion in crypto ETF exposure including a new $261 million pivot into XRP and Solana, even as Bitcoin and Ethereum positions were trimmed. Solomon called tokenization "super important," signaled interest in prediction markets, and criticized years of "prohibitive" regulation now easing under the current administration. The takeaway: Goldman isn't asking whether crypto belongs in institutional portfolios anymore. It's asking how much.
Recommended Reading
- Abu Dhabi Sovereign Funds Held Over $1 Billion of BlackRock Bitcoin ETF at the End of 2025
- Harvard Trims Its Bitcoin ETF by 21% and Opens a First-Ever $87 Million Ethereum Position
- BlackRock Will Skim 18 Percent of Staked Ethereum ETF Rewards as ETHB Filing Reveals the True Cost of Institutional Yield
