Overview

• Citigroup has advanced from exploring to planning custody services for the U.S. Treasury or cash reserves that regulated stablecoins must hold under federal law.
• The bank is also preparing to safekeep the digital assets backing crypto ETFs, tapping into a market where funds like BlackRock’s IBIT exceed $90 billion in assets.
• Citi is developing stablecoin payment and instant conversion services by extending its existing tokenized dollar rails across New York, London and Hong Kong.
• Proposed custody offerings are contingent on rigorous compliance checks, anti-money laundering measures, asset provenance verification and strengthened cybersecurity.
• Entry by Citigroup and other traditional banks threatens Coinbase’s current role as custodian for over 80% of U.S. crypto ETF issuers.