Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley See Tokenization as an Opportunity
Goldman, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley see tokenized assets and payments as a growth opportunity. The banks are already testing uses for trading, cross-border payments, and wealth management.
Key Takeaways
- Goldman Sachs sees tokenization mainly as a chance for more trading activity, new products, and possibly new clients.
- Wells Fargo is already using tokenized deposits for cross-border payments that arrive within two minutes or less.
- Morgan Stanley expects tokenization could create more demand for advice and wealth management services.
Tokenization is getting more and more attention on Wall Street, and the biggest American banks see it mainly as an opportunity. Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley explained this week during their quarterly earnings how the technology could bring new trading opportunities, faster payments, and extra advisory work. They did not give any concrete revenue forecasts yet.
Goldman Sees Trading Grow
At Goldman Sachs, the focus was on trading. CEO David Solomon was asked whether tokenization, DeFi, and prediction markets could hurt the bank's trading revenue. According to him, it could also lead to more activity.
Solomon compared the rise of tokenization to the shift to electronic stock trading nearly 50 years ago. Back then, there was also fear that trading desks would become less important, but Goldman adapted and actually saw its stock business grow. According to him, tokenization and broader distribution channels could once again lead to more products, more activity, and possibly new clients.
The bank has been working on digital infrastructure for years. Goldman built GS DAP, its own platform for tokenized assets, back in 2022 and previously worked on tokenization of bonds, money market funds, and real estate. In July, the bank also took part in a trial with a tokenization service from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which handles a large part of settlement in the U.S. securities market. Solomon did say, though, that activity so far is still small.
Wells Fargo Uses Tokenized Deposits
Wells Fargo is already further along in practice. The bank processes cross-border payments with tokenized deposits, with money landing in the beneficiary's account within two minutes or less. CFO Michael Santomassimo stressed that this system is already running in production, although volumes are still small.
For Wells Fargo, the opportunity is mainly in international payments. The bank has a less extensive international branch network than some competitors, and tokenized deposits can help attract more cross-border payment flow without first having to build physical presence everywhere.
The bank is also looking at tokenized securities, real-world assets, and crypto trading for wealth clients. Santomassimo did not say when those services will become available.
Why This Matters
The comments from Goldman, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley fit into a broader shift in the U.S. market. Regulators and major trading platforms are also taking tokenized stocks on public blockchains more seriously, with plans meant to support 24/7 trading and faster dividend processing. For European crypto followers, this shows that tokenization is no longer just a niche idea, but is increasingly becoming part of the strategy of established financial firms.
The question of where the economic value of that shift will end up is also a broader market issue. Researchers at Citrini previously pointed out that profits mainly depend on which networks, protocols, and platforms manage to capture the trading and settlement flows.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley put the focus on advice. CFO Sharon Yeshaya said that a world where assets move faster and more easily could actually create more need for guidance. The bank therefore sees tokenization mainly as an extra opportunity within wealth management and institutional services, not a threat to the existing model.
