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Citi considering launching crypto trading and custody service after surge in interest, FT reported
By - May 07, 2021, 04:54 PM ET
Last Updated - Apr 16, 2024, 08:24 AM EDT
Citigroup Inc is weighing the option of cryptocurrency trading, custody and financing after a surge in interest from its client, the Financial Times reported on Friday.Since August, the bank had seen a “very rapid” growth of interest in bitcoin across a broad spectrum of clients, including large asset managers, said Itay Tuchman, Citi’s global head of foreign exchange, told FT last year
Banking giant Citigroup Inc is weighing the option of cryptocurrency trading, custody and financing after a surge in interest from its client, the Financial Times reported on Friday.Since August, the bank had seen a “very rapid” growth of interest in bitcoin across a broad spectrum of clients, including large asset managers, said Itay Tuchman, Citi’s global head of foreign exchange, told FT last year.“There are different options from our perspective and we are considering where we can best service clients. This is not going to be a prop-trading effort,” Tuchman told FT, referring to proprietary trading in which banks trade for direct market gain instead of trading on behalf of clients and earn a commission.However, Citi will not rush into launching a crypto service despite other institutional traders’ being forced to respond to surging interest in bitcoin from asset managers and hedge funds.Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Mellon are a few large institutions that have announced plans to offer a cryptocurrency-related product to its customer.“We shouldn’t do anything that’s not safe and sound. We will jump in when we are confident that we can build something that benefits clients and that regulators can support,” Tuchman said.“I don’t have any FOMO [fear of missing out] because I believe that crypto is here to stay and that we are just at the very beginning of the market,” he said. “This isn’t a space race. There is room for more than just one flag.”In March, Citi published ‘Bitcoin: At The Tipping Point’, stating, “There are a host of risks and obstacles that stand in the way of Bitcoin progress. But weighing these potential hurdles against the opportunities leads to the conclusion that Bitcoin is at a tipping point and we could be at the start of massive transformation of cryptocurrency into the mainstream.”“Bitcoin may be optimally positioned to become the preferred currency for global trade,” one of the world’s largest currency trading bank mentioned in its report.
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