Citigroup Gears Up for a Crypto RoleCustody and Payment Services on the Horizon

Citigroup is quietly preparing to step into the digital asset arena, eyeing custody and payment offerings that cover both stablecoins and crypto ETFs. Biswarup Chatterjee, who leads partnerships and innovation at the bank, briefly confirmed that the bank’s first move could be to safeguard the high-quality asset reserves backing stablecoins, like U.S. Treasuries and cash .

Why this matters: A freshly passed U.S. law (the “GENIUS Act”) now requires stablecoin issuers to have secure, reserve backing. That opens the door for established custodian banks like Citi to offer secure storage solutions—a space that’s traditionally belonged to crypto-native players. Citigroup isn’t stopping there; it’s also looking into providing custody for digital assets tied to crypto ETFs, an area currently dominated by Coinbase, which handles over 80% of that market .

What Citigroup Is Considering Beyond Custody

Instant, Cross-Border Payments with Stablecoins

Citi already allows tokenized U.S. dollar transfers via blockchain between financial centers like New York, London, and Hong Kong. The bank is now exploring ways to let clients instantly move stablecoins-or convert them into dollars-for faster settlements .

Launching Its Own Stablecoin

Citigroup isn’t just thinking about custody. The bank is also considering issuing its own stablecoin, a move that would align with its growing push into the tokenized deposit space and enhance its digital payments ecosystem .

What’s Driving the Shift?

Regulatory Tailwinds: The SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs later brought surging institutional interest. Now, improved regulatory clarity regarding stablecoin backing is encouraging banks to participate more actively in the crypto economy .

Growing Market Demand: Between spot crypto ETFs and a $250 billion-plus stablecoin market, there’s serious traction-and banks want in .

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