PALM BEACH, Fla. – Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he owns “very little, but some” bitcoin, though he continues to follow the asset closely as part of a broader interest in how the technology is reshaping finance.
“I’m an observer of bitcoin,” Solomon said at the World Liberty Forum on Wednesday, saying he’s still trying to understand how it’s moving.
While Goldman Sachs has taken a cautious approach to digital assets, the firm’s management sees crypto as part of a longer-term shift in financial infrastructure, Solomon noted.
He dismissed the idea that traditional banks and crypto firms are locked in a zero-sum battle. “It’s one system, it’s our system,” he said. “We have to do it the right way … and there will be disagreements, and that’s ok.”
Solomon said the evolution of markets is being shaped by major technology platforms and tokenization will play a central role.
“The development of these platforms … there is obvious impact,” he said. “Tokenization … which I think is super important.”
While other banking giants such as JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have pushed deeper into the digital asset space, Goldman Sachs’ involvement has so far been limited. According to Salomon, the main reason is regulation.
“Until 10 minutes ago, the regulatory structure was extremely prohibitive,” he joked, but suggested that as regulators begin to give companies more leeway to become “more involved” in the sector, Goldman may take a second look.
Read more: Goldman Sachs sees regulation driving next wave of institutional crypto adoption
‘You have to get it right’
Solomon criticized the economic effects of over-regulation.
“When you burden this system with excessive regulation, you start extracting capital,” he said. “It absolutely has happened in the last five years.”
He emphasized getting the approach right. “It has to be done thoughtfully and we have to get it right.”
Solomon previously said the banking giant is increasing its research and internal discussions around crypto-adjacent technologies, including tokenization and prediction markets.
Read more: Goldman ‘spends a lot of time’ on crypto, predicts market efforts, says CEO Solomon
