Goldman Sachs President to Become CEO by End of Year, More Crypto Involvement Expected

Goldman Sachs current president, David M. Solomon — who moonlights as an EDM DJ and practices yoga — is set to become the company’s CEO by the end of this year.

Solomon, who has already started putting together his management team, is set to replace longtime Chief Executive Lloyd C. Blankfein. The move has been a quick one, as just this past March Solomon was named sole President of the Wall Street giant. For the cryptosphere his appointment could mean good things, as both Solomon and Goldman have expressed interest in furthering development of digital coin-related offerings.

Blankfein’s exit will likely take place in conjunction with the firm’s annual dinner for retired partners in December, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke with the New York Times. Solomon, it seems, is set to step in shortly after that.

Blankfein, a onetime gold salesman who is known for his intellect and wit, steered Goldman through the tumultuous 2007 U.S. housing market collapse, but not without seeing the firm suffer damages to its reputation. Since then, Goldman’s business model has been hurt by tough federal regulations meant to curb risk-taking on Wall Street and help prevent another collapse.

Because of this, the firm, once reliant on high-flying traders, now has to look elsewhere for new revenue. One way Goldman is doing this is by expanding its online-lending business and doing more trading of currencies and commodities on behalf of large corporations.

Earlier this year, Goldman made its first hire in digital current space — a move which shows how serious it is in helping give clients access to the emerging asset class. The firm hired former digital currency trader Justin Schmidt as Vice President and head of digital asset markets in Goldman’s securities division.

Furthermore, since as early as December of last year some reports have indicated that Goldman is in the process of developing a trading desk to deal in digital currencies. At the time, it was indicated that firm was aiming to have its platform up and running by this summer (2018).

“In terms of having a trusted institutional player, it has been something I have been looking for in my own crypto trading — but it didn’t exist,” Schmidt said. 

Also in December the bank became one of the first institutional lenders to start offering Cboe and CME Bitcoin futures for clients — the same month the derivative products launched. Serving as a middleman, Goldman permits institutional customers to access Bitcoin by placing an order through the bank which is a member of the exchanges.

But despite the fact that the firm is taking steps towards getting a crypto team together and also was an early trader of Bitcoin futures, official reports from the company don’t divulge much information. In a statement, spokesperson Tiffany Galvin described the current situation as follows:

“In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space. At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering.”