Citi Bank’s “Citicoin” was never formally announced, but was in development at an innovation lab in Dublin Ireland. It was intended to streamline global payment processes, much like the JPMorgan Chase token. However, now the bank is considering offering client cryptocurrency services, potentially including trading, custody and financing.
“Citigroup’s interest in crypto-related services is not surprising given the recent state of institutional investments in bitcoin driven by strong client demand,” said Haohan Xu, CEO of Apifiny.
Back in 2019 Citi was no longer pursuing CitiCoin, stating that the firm would instead be working to improve its existing infrastructure. Nevertheless, times have changed, “Citigroup is recognizing that their clients want to own and trade cryptos through trusted brand names with established reputations,” said Harold Montgomery, managing director at Wirex USA. “Citi joins the likes of other mainstream financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, which are also developing offerings for their clients. These banking institutions are beginning to realize that digital assets are here to stay and banks should be preparing for crypto adoption.
Citi now realizes that competition for Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies has made things more competitive. Citi has now stepped back into the game. Gulru Atak, the current innovation lab chief, reportedly said:“Citigroup will very likely have to partner with established companies in the crypto space to tackle trading and custody challenges they will face,” said Xu. “In addition, they will need to find new crypto products to offer their clients to gain a competitive edge against their investment bank counterparts.”
Without a doubt, this would be the right time for Citi to make this move. Citi was right to step back into the competition, taking on the challenge of introducing a Citi-branded crypto, competing with the existing banks, and development of digital currencies products and services.
