Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Thursday said the firm has assembled a large internal team to study cryptocurrency-related technologies and prediction markets, highlighting how seriously Wall Street’s largest institutions are evaluating the next phase of digital market structure.
What Happened
Speaking during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Solomon said Goldman is spending significant time and senior-level attention on tokenization, stablecoins, and prediction markets, as regulators and market participants debate how these products fit into existing financial frameworks.
“... We have an enormous number of people on the firm extremely focused on tokenization, stablecoins,” Solomon said.
He added that the firm is not rushing to position itself as a first mover, but is instead working deliberately to understand where digital market infrastructure could expand or accelerate Goldman’s existing businesses.
“I don’t think we have to be the leader,” Solomon said. “But it would not surprise you that we have a big team of people spending a lot of time with senior leadership and doing a lot of work so that we can clearly decide where we’re investing and playing and how those technologies can expand or accelerate a variety of our existing businesses and where there are new business opportunities, candidly, around those technologies.”
Prediction Markets Draw Direct Attention From Leadership
Solomon said prediction markets have become an area of direct engagement for Goldman’s leadership, noting that he has personally met with major players in the space in recent weeks.
“I think the prediction markets are also super interesting,” Solomon said. “I’ve personally met with the two big prediction companies and their leadership in the last two weeks and spent a couple of hours with each to learn more about that.”
According to Solomon, some prediction market products already resemble instruments familiar to traditional financial institutions, particularly where regulatory oversight is involved.
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“When you think about some of these activities, particularly when you look at some of the ones that are CFTC regulated, they look like derivative contract activities,” he said.
He said Goldman is focused on understanding how these markets could intersect with the firm’s core businesses and client offerings.
“And so I can certainly see opportunities where these cross into our business, and we’re very focused on understanding that, understanding the regulatory structure that’s going to develop around that, seeing where there are opportunities for us to have capabilities or to partner to serve our clients around these,” Solomon said.
Regulation Shapes The Firm’s Approach
Solomon emphasized that regulatory developments will play a key role in determining how and when Goldman participates more actively in digital asset markets.
He pointed to ongoing legislative discussions in Washington as part of the firm’s assessment process.
“Obviously, there’s a lot going on in Washington right now with the Clarity Act,” Solomon said. “I was actually in Washington on Tuesday speaking to people about things that we think are important to us in the context of the framing of that.”
While acknowledging the potential of crypto-related market infrastructure, Solomon cautioned against expectations of rapid transformation.
“I think it’s early on both,” he said. “I think sometimes, I think there’s a lot of reason to be excited and interested in these things, but the pace of change might not be as quick and as immediate as some of the pundits are talking about in both of these, but I think they’re important, real, and we’re spending a lot of time.”