At Token2049 in Dubai, Goldman Sachs’ Head of Digital Assets, Mathew McDermott, gave a clear message: if crypto wants to scale, regulatory clarity is the missing piece.
Speaking during a fireside chat, McDermott said the next big leap in the crypto space hinges on giving large institutions the confidence and permission to enter the ecosystem with serious capital.
“One of the things you need is scale,” he said. “And for that, you need big institutions actively participating across different parts of the market.”
McDermott believes the United States is heading in a positive direction, especially with ongoing lobbying efforts encouraging the current administration to shape meaningful and practical crypto regulations. He noted that this momentum could benefit the global market by increasing investor confidence and drawing more players into the ecosystem.
He specifically pointed to the two stablecoin bills currently in the works. If these bills lead to regulations that allow institutions to adopt stablecoins smoothly, McDermott thinks it could significantly accelerate digital currency usage among financial giants. “We’re watching very closely,” he added.
Goldman Sachs isn’t sitting on the sidelines. The bank is already active in crypto trading, covering everything from futures and options to ETFs. It’s also heavily invested in blockchain infrastructure projects and is exploring the tokenization of traditional assets.
McDermott also revealed that Goldman has built its own Digital Asset Platform, which is now preparing to spin off with help from strategic partners. “We’re confident we’ll divest it next year,” he said.
As regulations evolve, McDermott believes tokenization — especially for money market funds — could see widespread adoption. And from what he sees, clients are ready.
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