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: An opinion piece published in the French media *Le Monde* points out that France may have only about 6 months to seize the new wave of industrial revolution led by "agentic AI". Otherwise, it risks being marginalized in the global digital financial system. Several French crypto industry insiders argue that online transactions driven by AI agents are growing rapidly, with most settlements already completed via stablecoins. According to the *State of Crypto* report by Andreessen Horowitz, the annual transaction volume of stablecoins has reached approximately $46 trillion, nearly three times that of Visa and 20 times that of PayPal, establishing them as a key infrastructure in the global payment system.The article further points out that the x402 standard, promoted by Coinbase and adopted by Cloudflare, Google, and Visa, already supports AI agents in automatically completing payments via stablecoins, with cumulative transactions exceeding 119 million to date.However, in terms of the tax system, France's current provisions are criticized as being unable to adapt to this trend. The complex tax treatment between stablecoin exchanges and fiat withdrawals is believed to discourage the flow of funds back into the banking system, causing a large volume of digital asset transactions to remain within the stablecoin ecosystem for extended periods. As AI agents and stablecoin payments gradually converge, the global financial infrastructure is being restructured. If France fails to promptly adjust its regulatory and tax framework, it may miss out on the dividends of this new wave of the digital economy.
Goldman Sachs’ Q1 2026 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows a significant reduction in its holdings of crypto asset ETFs: it has fully exited all XRP-related ETFs and all Solana ETFs offered by Grayscale, Bitwise, and Fidelity. Its Bitcoin ETF holdings still include approximately $690 million in BlackRock’s IBIT and roughly $25 million in Fidelity’s FBTC—both down about 10% quarter-over-quarter. Ethereum ETF holdings declined more sharply: its position in the iShares Ethereum ETF (ETHA) was cut by approximately 70%, leaving about $114 million. Additionally, Goldman Sachs increased its stakes in Circle, Galaxy Digital, Coinbase, Robinhood, and PayPal during the same period, while reducing positions in Strategy and Riot Platforms.
Goldman Sachs significantly reduced its crypto ETF exposure in the first quarter of 2026 and has completely exited its holdings in XRP and Solana-related ETFs.Filings show that in the fourth quarter of 2025, Goldman Sachs held approximately $154 million in XRP-related ETFs, including products from Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares, making it one of the largest institutional holders of XRP ETFs at the time. Additionally, the firm previously held Solana-related ETFs such as the Grayscale Solana Trust ETF, Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, and Fidelity Solana Fund, all of which have now been fully sold off.However, Goldman Sachs still retains substantial holdings in BTC and ETH ETFs. Specifically, it holds approximately $690 million in BlackRock's IBIT and about $25 million in Fidelity's FBTC, though both positions were reduced by roughly 10% compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, its holding in BlackRock's ETHA shrank by about 70%, leaving approximately 7.2 million shares valued at around $114 million.Furthermore, Goldman Sachs increased its holdings in crypto-related stocks such as Circle, Galaxy Digital, Coinbase, Robinhood, and PayPal, while reducing positions in mining and infrastructure companies like Strategy, Bit Digital, Riot Platforms, and IREN. (Cointelegraph)