Uncertain policy future, why is Wall Street still increasing investments in crypto stablecoins?

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon poured cold water on the CLARITY Act during the latest earnings call. He stated that the U.S. Congress’s Digital Asset Market Clarity Act “still has a long way to go” before making progress. But here’s an interesting contrast: despite the bank’s somewhat pessimistic outlook on policy prospects, it is actively developing stablecoin and tokenized asset businesses. This reflects the true attitude of traditional financial institutions toward crypto innovation.

Policy Dilemma and Institutional Optimism Contradiction

Why the CLARITY Act is important yet difficult to pass

The core of the CLARITY Act is to establish a clear regulatory framework for the digital asset market, covering key areas such as tokenization and stablecoins. According to Solomon, Goldman Sachs is “highly focused” on this issue, indicating its importance is unquestionable. But he also candidly admitted that, based on recent news, the bill’s progress is far behind expectations.

This policy-level uncertainty usually causes market participants to adopt a wait-and-see approach. But reality tells a different story.

Institutions are voting with their actions

Although Solomon expressed pessimism about policy progress, the actual moves by Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street giants are quite the opposite:

These are not small efforts. Visa’s stablecoin settlement business has already scaled up and is accelerating. Institutional players like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase wouldn’t be investing so heavily in an area with complete policy uncertainty.

Why does policy uncertainty actually drive market action?

Here’s a key logic: Policy uncertainty does not equal market uncertainty.

According to relevant data, the global RWA tokenization market has reached $35.2 billion. While the proportion of RWA in the US stock market is not high, its growth rate is rapid. More importantly, these incremental funds come from institutions that had never previously participated in crypto—such as traditional giants like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

What does this indicate? It shows that these institutions have already judged that tokenization and stablecoins are the inevitable trend, regardless of when the CLARITY Act passes. Instead of waiting for policy clarity, they are building the infrastructure first.

The true considerations of institutions

Solomon said, “These innovations are crucial,” and this statement is very key. They are not betting on the CLARITY Act passing, but on the future of the entire tokenization ecosystem. The bill is just a matter of certainty, not direction.

Visa’s strategy is more straightforward: not to replace existing payment networks, but to integrate stablecoins into the current system. This shows that institutions have already found a path that does not rely entirely on policy clarity—by leveraging existing financial infrastructure to gradually embed stablecoins and tokenized assets.

Two possible futures

Scenario 1: The CLARITY Act ultimately passes and establishes a clear regulatory framework. This will accelerate institutional entry, and those already involved, like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, will benefit from policy gains.

Scenario 2: The bill continues to stall, but market participants have already built de facto infrastructure through existing channels. Ultimately, policy will be forced to follow the reality.

From the perspective of institutional deployment, they seem prepared for both scenarios. This is the professional risk management approach.

Summary

Solomon’s views reflect the real dilemma at the policy level—the progress of the CLARITY Act indeed faces obstacles. But this should not be interpreted as a signal of market stagnation. On the contrary, traditional financial institutions are accelerating their investments in tokenization and stablecoins, indicating they have made independent judgments.

Clear policy is important, but market participants will not wait for policies. They are demonstrating through actions that the future of tokenization does not depend on a single bill, but on market demand itself. The CLARITY Act may eventually pass, but by then, the market’s infrastructure will already be in place.