Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI) surged 17% as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) CEO David Solomon and NYSE President Lynn Martin spoke at the inaugural World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago, signaling Wall Street’s embrace of tokenization. Solomon revealed he owns “very little, but some” Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), describing himself as an observer still trying to understand how it moves. However, he dismissed the idea that traditional banks and crypto are locked in a zero-sum fight. “It’s one system, it’s our system,” Solomon said. “We have to do it the right way, and there’s going to be disagreements and that’s OK,” he added.
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• Build your own AI-powered index in minutes — and earn an uncapped 1% match when you move your portfolio to Public. Learn how it works. Solomon pointed to tokenization as critical. The evolution of markets is being shaped by large-scale technology platforms, and tokenization will play a central role. “That I think is super important,” he said. Goldman’s limited crypto involvement stems from what Solomon called prohibitive regulation that only recently began loosening. He suggested Goldman may now take another look as regulators provide greater latitude for banks to engage with digital assets. On overregulation, Solomon argued that excessive rules extract capital from the financial system—something he said definitively happened over the last five years and hurt market efficiency. Trending: Before the IPO: How One Company Quietly Locked Up 500+ Iconic Character Rights NYSE President Lynn Martin said the exchange felt a “responsibility” to engage in tokenization as blockchain-based finance gains momentum. The NYSE has already developed tokenization technology and is working with regulators to understand how it fits within the existing framework. The exchange is preparing a blockchain-powered platform launching later this year that would enable 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs—straying from its traditional 6.5-hour, five-day trading window. However, no specific launch date has been provided. Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said on the same panel that previous administrations “discouraged” development of new tools. “I want that to be very clear, we stand ready to build with the incumbents, new entrants, old technologies, new technologies.”