Citi, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, has partnered with METACO, a Swiss technology firm, to create and pilot custody tools for digital assets.
A Citi 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.
According to Okan Pekin, Global Head of Securities Services at Citi,
“We are witnessing the increasing digitization of traditional investment assets along with new native digital assets. We are innovating and developing new capabilities to support digital asset classes that are becoming increasingly relevant to our clients.”
This strategic partnership enables Citi to expand its current capabilities to digital assets by utilizing its current technological, operational, and servicing strategy. Using its current worldwide operations, technology, and risk frameworks, Citi will be able to grow securely and successfully into new areas, credit to the strength of its Harmonize platform and its broad global network. Citi’s Institutional Client Group’s digital asset strategy will rely heavily on the technological capabilities created via this relationship.
CEO and Founder of METACO, Adrien Treccani, stated,
“We are pleased to team up with Citi, one of the largest securities services firms, to support them in their vision to bridge digital and traditional assets. This initiative is a market-defining moment for institutional adoption of digital assets.”
Citi provides trading in Bitcoin (BTC) futures, similar to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. In November of last year, the bank disclosed intentions to employ 100 personnel to strengthen the section of the digital asset for institutional clients.
Apart from Citi, METACO has supplied crypto custody infrastructure for several banks, including Spain’s BBVA (BME) and GazpromBank. IBM’s division of digital assets, a preferred infrastructure supplier for most of the world’s banks, is also collaborating with the Swiss technology company.