Radhika Parashar
- Citigroup has now joined a list of Wall Street banks that are already exploring digital assets services
- The US has refined crypto-sceptic rules for banks under President Trump’s administration
- Former U.S. President Joe Biden had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto owing to the volatility element
Jane Fraser, the CEO of Wall Street’s Citigroup has praised the Trump administration for taking active measures in bringing more clarity around crypto policies in the U.S. Earlier this week, Fraser said, that Citigroup welcomes the US government’s willingness to let banks engage with the digital assets sector in simpler ways.
Citigroup was founded in 1998 and as of July 14, its market cap stood at $161.99 billion as shown by Macrotrends. Its acknowledgement to Trump’s crypto measures shows how assets like Bitcoin have broken from their speculative, game-token images to interest the Wall Street mammoths.
US banks batting to grow crypto footprint
Speaking at an earnings call with market analysts this week, Fraser reportedly said that Citigroup is looking at the issuance of a native stablecoin in the coming times. A report by Coindesk said that Fraser is very clear that these financial innovations will help banks adopt newer revenue streams and grow their respective clientiles.
Newsletter
Get weekly updates on the newest crypto stories, case studies and tips right in your mailbox.
Citigroup is also sparking discussions on what the future of crypto looks like with senior officials from the economic and government sectors. Earlier this week for instance, the Citi Institute podcast also hosted a discussion on digital assets and stablecoins with Caroline Pham, the Acting Chairman of the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). During the discussions, Pham predicted that digital money, crypto assets, and blockchain-based financial services will become more integrated to the traditional finance ecosystem owing to the regulatory clarity as well as institutional adoption.
For now, the bank is focussing on exploring services around asset tokenisation, the CEO noted.
History of U.S. banks with crypto
Under former President Joe Biden, US-based banks were discouraged from engaging with the crypto sector owing to its volatile nature. In May this year, however, the situation changed.
Under President Trump, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) allowed banks in the US to services like crypto custody and management to their customers. The OCC also said that banks can help users purchase and sell crypto assets at their own discretion.
US’ Federal Reserve also revoked the requirement for banks to ask for permissions before taking any crypto-related initiatives – simplifying the integration of traditional finance with digital assets.
At this point, Citigroup is not the only mainstream financial institution that is inclining towards foraying into the digital assets world. Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and the Bank of America have also gradually been dabbling in crypto-related services and research work over the past few years.
As of Wednesday, July 16, the market cap of the crypto sector stood at $3.74 trillion. Bitcoin, the most expensive crypto asset hit its new all-time high (ATH) of $123,140 earlier this week, driven by escalating institutional interest and the globally evolving legislative landscape around digital assets.
