Citi Plans to Enter Crypto Market by 2026
Citi, a major American investment bank, plans to launch crypto services by 2026. The bank will offer products like stablecoins and cryptocurrency ETFs.
Focus on Institutional Digital Asset Custody
A senior Citigroup executive confirmed the bank’s strategy. Citi will focus on custody services for assets backing stablecoins, such as U.S. Treasuries and cash. The bank is also exploring custody for digital assets behind crypto ETFs. This follows the growth of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which need secure management of large digital holdings.
Using Existing Infrastructure for Tokenized Assets
Citi’s Innovation Labs (CIDAP) supports issuing, transferring, and custody of tokenized assets on public and private blockchains. The bank integrates these with treasury and cash management to enable instant payments.
Citi currently uses this network to transfer tokenized U.S. dollars 24/7 between New York, London, and Hong Kong. The goal is to let clients transfer stablecoins or convert them to dollars for fast, cross-border payments. Tokenization helps reduce speed and cost issues in traditional banking.
Competing in Digital Asset Custody
Citi holds about $25 trillion in assets under custody. The bank’s plan follows the SEC’s removal of accounting rule SAB 121, which blocked U.S. banks from digital asset custody for nearly three years. Citi aims to enter a market now led by crypto-native firms like Coinbase.
Amit Agarwal, Citi’s Head of Custody, said the future of post-trade is “instant.” The bank is investing to modernize infrastructure as traditional and digital assets merge.
