Key Takeaways
Why is Citigroup doubling down in crypto?
The firm expects more growth in stablecoin and crypto ETFs.
Will it withstand the competition?
It remains to be seen because stablecoin issuers are pushing to custody their assets.
Citigroup (Citi), one of the world’s largest banks, plans to expand into the digital assets space with crypto custody services in 2026.
In an interview with CNBC, Biswarup Chatterjee, the global head of partnerships and innovation at Citi, said they’ve been developing the custody solution for over three years.
He added,
“We’re hoping that in the next few quarters, we can come to market with a credible custody solution that we can offer to our asset managers and other clients.”
Custody means holding assets (including crypto) on behalf of customers for an exchange or a bank. Since banks are heavily regulated and relatively secure, it helps reduce cyberattack risks.
Citi’s crypto ventures
Chatterjee said that the firm was exploring various approaches, including an in-house crypto custody service or a third-party partnership.
“We may have certain solutions that are completely designed and built in-house that are targeted towards certain assets and certain segment of our clients, whereas we may use a … third-party, lightweight, nimble solution for other kinds of assets.”
The update wasn’t surprising, though. In August, Citigroup indicated that it will prioritize the reserves used to back stablecoins.
“Providing custody services for the high-quality assets backing stablecoins is our first area of focus.”
Thanks to the GENIUS Act, stablecoin issuers in the U.S., including Circle, Tether, and Ripple, are now required to back their tokens with treasury bills and other cash-equivalent reserves.
Since the law was enacted, stablecoin supply has grown by over $50 billion, highlighting strong market momentum. With a $2 trillion market cap target by 2028, Citigroup’s move into the sector aligns with this accelerating growth.
In fact, the bank recently launched Citi Token Services, a blockchain for cross-border payments for its U.S. and UK clients. It also invested in a stablecoin payment platform, BVNK, further underscoring its interest in stablecoins and the crypto sector.
But it’s going to be a crowded space. Already, Circle and Ripple have applied for a state-chartered trust license to legally custody their own reserves without relying on third parties.
On the other hand, there’s little room for competition in the ETFs space. Although BNY Mellon has shown interest in crypto custody, Coinbase holds most of the current Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] ETFs.
Even crypto native firms, like Achorage Digital, which handles 21Shares ETFs, are expanding into the custody segment. It remains to be seen how Citigroup will compete in the space.
