While the crypto industry has grown up on the ideals of decentralization and experimental fintech logic, global banks are entering this space through a quieter – but far more strategic – route. At YourNewsClub, we note that Citi is not simply “getting into crypto,” it is positioning itself as the core infrastructure layer, similar to the role custodial giants play in traditional securities and currency markets. According to Biswarup Chatterjee, Head of Innovation Partnerships at Citi, the bank has spent the past few years building a digital asset custody system and plans to roll it out in 2026 – not as a side feature, but as a full-scale financial backbone service for institutional capital.
The fact that a bank of Citi’s scale is moving into custody changes the entire logic of the market. Until recently, digital assets were handled by independent custodians or crypto exchanges operating on the fringes of the regulated financial system. Now, the idea of storing digital assets is being pulled directly into the core of banking architecture. As YourNewsClub digital infrastructure strategist Jessica Larn puts it: “The moment an institutional bank places a digital asset under custody, it does more than store it – it takes control over the legal and liquidity perimeter of that market.”
This effectively shifts crypto from an “alternative financial zone” into a regulated capital class operating under bank supervision and legal jurisdiction.
Citi is exploring multiple operational strategies:
- A proprietary custody core for flagship institutional clients
- A hybrid architecture where third-party tech providers are integrated for niche tokenized assets
This modular strategy is deliberate. Citi is not trying to build a monolithic “one-system-for-everything” platform. Instead, it seeks to create an adaptive custody network, capable of flexing to match token standards, client tiers and regulatory jurisdictions. As YourNewsClub digital capital systems analyst Freddy Camacho notes: “Banks aren’t entering crypto to trade. They’re moving in to secure the trust layer – custody isn’t a product, it’s a jurisdictional choke point over asset circulation.”
In parallel, Citi and other Wall Street firms are already pushing beyond custody and into blockchain-native clearing tools: deposit tokens, instant settlement rails and bank-issued stablecoin mechanisms. JPMorgan openly confirmed development of tokenized deposits, while Citi has launched Citi Token Services to enable 24/7 cross-border settlement infrastructure. The direction is clear: a dual-currency framework, where a blockchain-powered digital dollar exists alongside the traditional USD – but cleared not through crypto exchanges, rather through institutional liquidity nodes.
YourNewsClub digital economies expert Alex Reinhardt explains: “If banks master stablecoin infrastructure before the crypto industry matures its own standards, the crypto economy effectively becomes an extension of the banking system – just with a different interface.”
A separate strategic layer lies in emerging markets, where fragmented financial rails create friction for global enterprises. For multinational Citi clients, a blockchain settlement corridor that bypasses local banking volatility is not innovation – it’s operational survival. From our perspective at YourNewsClub, this is no longer an experimental fintech feature. It is a liquidity weapon for markets where traditional banking infrastructure can no longer support the pace of international capital flows.