Citigroup's Strategic Move Into Stablecoin Custody

Citigroup is poised to expand its footprint in the digital asset space by exploring stablecoin custody and services surrounding ETF activity, according to Cryptopolitan. This comes after recent headlines made by financial institutions announcing efforts following the U.S. GENIUS Act legislation that enables issuers and custodians of stablecoins backed liquid and transparent reserves, such as short-term U.S. Treasuries.

The bank's Global Head of Partnerships and Innovation, Biswarup Chatterjee, indicated in a recent interview that Citigroup may be focusing on providing appropriate safeguarding and custody solutions for stablecoins and other digital assets to its existing clients, the latter catering to the rising demand for crypto ETFs, such as those linked to the underlying performance Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Currently, Citigroup is experimenting with its own transfers and settlement of funds T+0 using blockchain technology between various regional branches, so a potential launch of its own stablecoin and further exploration of tokenized deposits infrastructure to facilitate faster operations falls in line with the strategic objectives of similar large banks, such as J.P.Morgan and Standard Chartered.