This Power Player Owns $154 Million in XRP ETFs. Should You Buy It, Too?

Most investors like to know when one of the world's most powerful banks just loaded up on something they've been eyeing (or holding). On that note, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) disclosed that it holds approximately $154 million in spot XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) exchange-traded funds (ETF), per its fourth-quarter 2025 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making it the single largest institutional holder of XRP ETFs in the U.S. It's natural to wonder whether you should follow Goldman's lead, even if you don't command quite as much capital.

Here's how to put the bank's purchase into context, and how to evaluate whether it's a smart move for you to follow along and buy the same XRP ETFs.

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What these filings show

Goldman spread its $153.8 million XRP position evenly across four spot cryptocurrency ETFs. That diversification across issuers is more or less what you'd expect from a financial business trying to manage risk. For individuals, there's not any benefit in spreading an investment across the XRP ETFs, which are functionally identical.

Goldman's XRP allocation sits in a broader $2.4 billion crypto portfolio that's held entirely through ETFs. The allocation dedicated to XRP is puny in comparison to those for Bitcoin and Ethereum, of which it holds around $1 billion each, but the bigger truth is that crypto simply isn't a very important asset class on the bank's books; in total, crypto represents just 0.3% of Goldman's portfolio.

Nonetheless, it's a systemically important holder of those XRP ETFs. Goldman accounts for about 73% of the roughly $211 million disclosed by the top 30 institutional XRP ETF holders.

One uncomfortable detail is that XRP has fallen roughly 60% from its late-2025 peak, meaning Goldman's position is likely worth far less today than when it was established. The next 13F filing, due in May, will reveal whether the bank held through that drawdown or exited.

Until then, interpreting the bank's holdings as a sign of its bullish conviction is premature.

Does this mean you should buy XRP?

Goldman's $154 million purchase is a data point worth noting, but it isn't an investment thesis on its own, nor is it something that's worth copying without careful consideration.

If you're going to buy XRP, do it because you believe in its utility as a piece of financial infrastructure and in its positioning in the upcoming asset tokenization wave. If Goldman's investors believe in that thesis, the odds of them continuing to hold the ETFs will be high, but you need to make your own determination about the thesis's merits if you're going to invest with confidence.

Furthermore, only buy it with capital you can afford to watch decline by another 40% without panicking, and don't invest unless you're comfortable holding for a few years at a minimum.

XRP is a coin that could fit in most crypto portfolios -- but it's still a risky play in the big scheme of things, regardless of whether Goldman likes it or not.

Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Goldman Sachs Group, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.