Goldman Sachs Cautiously Optimistic on Crypto Market in H2, Suggests COIN & HOOD

Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has turned cautiously optimistic on the crypto market for the second half of 2026, despite lower trading volumes. The Wall Street giant has also increased its crypto ETF positions and recommends buying crypto stocks such as Coinbase Global (COIN) and Robinhood Markets (HOOD).

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Goldman Sachs Bullish on Crypto Market

The Wall Street giant in its latest Americas Brokerage and Crypto Industry research revealed that crypto trading volumes declined 30% in July and another 21% in August. This is longer than the previous five cycles.

While overall crypto market trading volumes plunged roughly 75% from the peak, the crypto market cap rebounded about 21% to $2.8 trillion over the past week. Goldman Sachs analysts noted that volumes could rebound if market cap holds near current levels.

The report claimed 35% of institutional investors view regulatory uncertainty as the top barrier, while 32% view regulatory clarity as the primary catalyst for crypto adoption.

Positive developments include recent SEC innovation exemptions, crypto companies securing OCC national bank charters, and crypto infrastructure services to TradFi. Notably, the SEC is pushing crypto regulations amid delays in the CLARITY Act.

Notably, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon supported the CLARITY Act despite banks’ opposition to stablecoin yields. The Wall Street bank is also bullish on markers, along with the crypto market in H2 2026.

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Crypto Stock Recommendations amid Recovery

Goldman Sachs issues buy ratings on Coinbase and Robinhood amid crypto market recovery ahead of September and October seasonality. With crypto firms expanding to other offerings such as tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and perpetual futures trading, the bank expects revenue to rise.

Notably, it recommended COIN stock with a target price of $196 and HOOD price target of $124. COIN stock rallied over 21% and HOOD stock by 12% over a week.

Goldman Sachs also increased its crypto ETF positions in Q2, with XRP ETFs holding rising to $86.5 million. XRP price has skyrocketed over 50% since CoinGape revealed that the Wall Street giant re-entered XRP ETFs after completely exiting in Q1.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price has recovered above $80K today, up 26% over a week. Bitcoin hit a 24-hour high of $81,160. Furthermore, trading volume has increased by almost 75% over the last 24 hours, while investors await Wednesday’s US PCE inflation data.

Crypto analysts predict the bear market will end when Bitcoin price breaks above the $83K level. Currently, BTC is facing the 50-WMA resistance at $81,100.

To learn more about how to access fractional equities on-chain, investors can refer to our dedicated guide on the best platforms to trade tokenized stocks.