Citi bank, an American multinational investment bank is entering the digital asset space, with plans to launch services for crypto products, including stablecoins and cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), with a target timeline of 2026.
Focus on Institutional Digital Assets
A senior executive at Citigroup recently confirmed the bank’s strategy, primary focus on offering custody services for the assets that back stablecoins, such as U.S. Treasuries and cash. Citi is also exploring custody for the underlying digital assets of crypto ETFs, particularly following the rise of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which require secure management of billions in digital currency.
Leveraging Existing Infrastructure
Citi’s CIDAP (Citi Innovation Labs) enables the issuance, transfer, custody, and programmability of tokenized assets across public and private blockchains. The bank is integrating these services into its broader offerings which include treasury and cash management to provide instant payment solutions.
Citi is already using this network to facilitate 24/7 tokenized U.S. dollar transfers between major financial hubs like New York, London, and Hong Kong. The bank’s goal is to allow clients to transfer stablecoins or convert them into dollars for near-instant, cross-border payments, leveraging the efficiency of tokenization to address the speed and cost issues prevalent in traditional banking.
The Race for Digital Custody
The move by Citi holds approximately $25 trillion in assets under custody (AUC). Its plan comes shortly after the rescinding of the SEC’s accounting rule SAB 121, which had previously been a roadblock preventing U.S. banks from engaging in digital asset custody for nearly three years. By aiming for a 2026 launch, Citi is looking for a niche in a sector currently dominated by crypto-native firms like Coinbase.
Citi’s Head of Custody, Amit Agarwal, emphasized that the future of post-trade is “instant,” and the bank is making investments to modernize its infrastructure as traditional and digital assets converge.