Citibank Partners With Metaco to Build Digital Currency Platform

Banking giant Citibank (C) has chosen Swiss cryptocurrency custody company Metaco to create the bank's digital currency platform. Citi provides trading in bitcoin (BTC) futures, just like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM). The bank announced plans to increase the division of its digital assets for institutional clients by 100 employees in November of last year. According to a statement released Wednesday by the two businesses, Citi, which has roughly $27 trillion in assets in its custody, plans to integrate Metaco's "Harmonize" crypto custody technology completely.

Citi's Securities Services

A bank official pointed out via email that the news concerns Citi's Securities Services unit, so for the time being, the emphasis will be on things like tokenized securities: representations of stocks and bonds exchanged around and settled using blockchain technology. Okan Pekin, Global Head of Securities Services at Citi, in a statement,

''We are witnessing the digitization of traditional investment assets and new native digital assets. We are innovating and developing new capabilities to support digital asset classes that are becoming increasingly relevant to our clients.''

For various banks, notably Spain's BBVA (BME) and GazpromBank, Metaco has provided crypto custody infrastructure (Switzerland). The IBM division of digital assets, a preferred infrastructure supplier for most of the world's banks, is also collaborating with the Swiss technology company. Citi Securities Services offers clients in-depth local market expertise, cutting-edge processing technologies, and a wide range of custody and fund services tailored to clients' needs. Citi Securities Services has over US$27 trillion in assets under custody, administration, and trust and an industry-leading proprietary network spanning 63 markets.