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Goldman Sachs' David Solomon says he owns 'very little' bitcoin but watching it closely
“I’m an observer of bitcoin,” Solomon said at the World Liberty Forum on Wednesday, saying he's still trying to understand how it moves.
Feb 18, 2026, 4:22 p.m.
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What to know:
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he owns only a small amount of bitcoin but is closely watching the cryptocurrency as part of a broader shift in financial technology.
- Solomon argued that traditional finance and crypto are part of a single evolving system, with tokenization poised to play a central role in future market infrastructure.
- He said Goldman’s limited crypto involvement has been driven largely by what he called prohibitive regulation, warning that excessive rules can drain capital from the financial system even as he urged a thoughtful approach.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he owns "very little, but some" bitcoin, although he continues to follow the asset closely as part of a broader interest in how 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 moves.
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While Goldman Sachs has taken a cautious approach to digital assets, the firm’s leadership 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 fight. “It’s one system, it’s our system,” he said. “We have to do it the right way … and there’s going to be disagreements and that’s OK.”
Solomon said the evolution of markets is being shaped by large-scale technology platforms, and tokenization will play a central role.
“The evolution of those platforms … there’s obvious impact,” he said. “Tokenization ... that 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 been limited so far. The main reason, according to Solomon, is regulation.
“Until 10 minutes ago, the regulatory structure was extremely prohibitive,” he jokingly said, but suggested that as regulators begin providing greater latitude for companies to get "more involved" in the sector, Goldman may take another look.
Read more: Goldman Sachs sees regulation driving next wave of institutional crypto adoption
'Got to get it right'
Solomon criticized the economic effects of overregulation.
“When you burden this system with excessive regulation, you start to extract capital,” he said. “That absolutely happened in the last five years.”
He emphasized getting the approach right. “It’s got to be done thoughtfully, and we’ve got to get it right.”
Solomon previously said that the banking giant is ramping up its research and internal discussions around crypto-adjacent technologies, including tokenization and prediction markets.
Read more: Goldman is 'spending a lot of time' on crypto, prediction markets efforts, CEO Solomon says
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Bitcoin shakes off U.S. session losses as Trump says U.S. trade deficit cut by 78%
Investors are focused less on the accuracy of Trump’s trade figures and more on how renewed tariff talk could mean higher-for-longer interest rates.
What to know:
- Bitcoin swung between about $65,900 and $67,000 on Thursday as traders reacted to former President Donald J. Trump’s claim that tariffs have slashed the U.S. trade deficit by 78 percent.
- Investors are focused less on the accuracy of Trump’s trade figures and more on how renewed tariff talk could mean higher-for-longer interest rates, a stronger dollar and pressure on risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
- Bitcoin has recently been trading as a macro proxy, moving with shifts in liquidity and rate expectations, and could struggle to hold rallies if tariff concerns tighten financial conditions rather than fade into political noise.
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