Goldman, Wells Fargo, MS Frame Tokenization as Growth — SkimNews
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- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon compared tokenization to the shift to electronic stock trading 50 years ago, telling analysts it could create "more products, greater activity, potentially new clients, broader distribution channels" — though he conceded current activity is "small and at the margin."
- Goldman built its GS DAP tokenization platform as early as 2022 for bonds, money market funds, and real estate, and participated in a July test run of a tokenization service from the DTCC, the clearinghouse that processes quadrillions of dollars of U.S. securities transactions annually.
- Wells Fargo CFO Michael Santomassimo said the bank's tokenized deposit system is already in production, processing cross-border payments to beneficiary accounts in two minutes or less — a speed advantage the bank sees as a workaround for its limited international branch network.
- Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya argued tokenization will increase, not decrease, demand for advice: "The tokenized world means it is faster and easier to move assets around, and you will need advice," she told analysts.
- Morgan Stanley has been investing in digital capabilities across its wealth management and institutional securities businesses but did not announce a new tokenization product, while Wells Fargo flagged potential future offerings in tokenized securities, real-world assets, and crypto trading for wealth clients without giving timelines.
- None of the three banks put a revenue figure on the tokenization opportunity, and tokenization's broader promise — around-the-clock trading of equities, bonds, and commodities with few geographic restrictions — remains largely early-stage across Wall Street.
Why it matters: Three of the largest U.S. banks are publicly aligning tokenization with their core revenue engines — Goldman with trading, Wells Fargo with payments, Morgan Stanley with wealth advisory — rather than treating it as a disruptive threat. With tokenized deposits already live at Wells Fargo and Goldman's GS DAP dating to 2022, the banks are signaling they intend to own the infrastructure layer rather than cede it to crypto-native firms.
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