“A Big Team Is Focused on It”: Goldman Deepens Push Into Tokenization and Prediction Markets
Goldman Sachs is intensifying its internal work on tokenization, stablecoins, and prediction markets, signaling a deeper strategic shift toward crypto-adjacent technologies that could reshape parts of its trading and advisory operations.
CEO David Solomon disclosed the firm’s growing focus during its fourth-quarter earnings call, offering one of Goldman’s clearest indications yet that digital-asset infrastructure is becoming a priority across multiple business lines.
Solomon told analysts that crypto-related innovation is now a major area of research inside the firm.
“They’re both things that we have an enormous number of people at the firm extremely focused on: tokenization, stablecoins,” he said.
He described a “big team” actively working with senior leadership to evaluate how these technologies could “expand or accelerate” the bank’s core businesses, from market-making to structuring and risk management.
Prediction Markets Draw New Attention
One of the most striking revelations from Solomon’s remarks was Goldman’s early-2026 outreach to leaders in the CFTC-regulated prediction markets sector. These platforms, best known through companies like Kalshi and Polymarket, allow users to trade on the outcome of economic, political, and event-driven forecasts. The markets have recently gained mainstream traction as regulatory clarity improved and institutional demand grew.
Solomon said he “personally met with the two big prediction companies and their leadership in the last two weeks,” noting that he spent several hours with each firm to better understand their business models and potential cross-overs with Goldman’s offerings. He did not name the platforms, but his comments strongly suggest engagement with the industry’s most prominent regulated operators.
“We have a team of people here that are spending time with them and are looking at it,” he said, adding that he can “certainly see opportunities where [prediction markets] cross into our business.” While he didn’t elaborate on specific integrations, such markets could intersect with Goldman’s macro research desk, structured products division, or risk-transfer mechanisms.
The interest aligns with a broader trend of traditional finance institutions exploring how on-chain or crypto-linked data tools might enhance forecasting, hedging, and price-discovery frameworks.
Tokenization and Regulatory Engagement
Beyond prediction markets, tokenization remains one of the most active areas of research inside the bank.
Wall Street giants, including JPMorgan and BlackRock, have increasingly championed tokenized assets as a frontier for efficiencies in settlement, collateralization, and distribution of financial products. Goldman appears to be accelerating its own push, with Solomon emphasizing ongoing internal coordination and technical assessment.
That acceleration comes as Washington continues to debate key crypto regulatory bills, especially the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which has become a major point of friction between the banking industry and the crypto sector. The bill addresses how stablecoins, tokenized assets, and yield-bearing digital products should be regulated, and how traditional financial institutions can engage with them.
Solomon confirmed that Goldman has been actively engaging with policymakers. “Obviously, there’s a lot going on in Washington right now with the Clarity Act,” he 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.”
Banks have raised concerns over provisions related to yield and rewards on stablecoins, while crypto advocates argue that overly strict controls could hinder innovation. The disagreement has slowed the bill’s progression despite broad consensus that regulatory certainty is needed to unlock institutional-scale tokenization.
Adoption Will Be Gradual, Solomon Warns
Despite the activity, Solomon struck a cautious note on timing, warning that the industry often outpaces real-world adoption cycles. “Sometimes… 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,” he said.
Still, he characterized the technologies as “important” and “real,” emphasizing that Goldman is investing meaningful resources into understanding them and identifying commercially viable entry points.
As Wall Street firms reassess digital-asset strategies following a year of renewed market strength, Goldman’s latest signals point to a growing willingness to integrate tokenization, stablecoins, and prediction markets into its longer-term roadmap—provided the regulatory lanes become clear.
