Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has suggested that Goldman Sachs could issue its own cryptocurrency, as did JP Morgan.
In fact, in an interview with Les Echos, when asked if Goldman Sachs could play a role in the cryptocurrency sector of large financial institutions, such as that of JP Morgan, he said:
“Absolutely! A lot of people are pointing in this direction. But it’s too early to say which platform will prevail.
[…]We imagine that all major financial institutions around the world are considering the potential of ” tokenisation”, “stablecoin” and frictionless payments.
Although there is nothing explicit or definitive in these statements, there is a kind of openness on the part of the CEO towards a hypothetical Goldman Sachs cryptocurrency.
When asked about a possible involvement in Libra, Facebook’s stablecoin, he refused to comment, saying:
“I can’t comment on any discussions we might have with our clients. What I can tell you is that I find the principle interesting. We do extensive research on the concept of “tokenisation”, we believe that the creation a stable digital currency based on blockchain and backed by a basket of real currencies that can allow moving money across borders and without friction has potential. This is the direction in which the payment system will go”.
However, there is no precise information on what these “in-depth researches ” by Goldman Sachs concerning tokenisation and stablecoin are, although the company has certainly been following the developments of these new technologies for some time now.
On the subject of regulation he said:
“I think regulators around the world are watching what’s going on. They wonder how it will work and are very attentive to payment flows. There will be a change in the rules, that’s for sure”.
As for the traditional banking system, he said he does not believe that banks will disappear because of these new cryptocurrencies, although they will have to evolve, because the operations related to payment flows will become less and less profitable for them. He also added that the banks that will not be able to be innovative will probably disappear.
