Citi has become the latest in the long list of banks who are looking to enter into the crypto services space as the interest among investors in crypto continues to surge, as per a report in the Financial Times.
Recently, many banks have announced their decision to look into bitcoin and other crypto currencies as the crypto industry becomes an entity that cannot be ignored anymore, atleast as far as the traders and investors are concerned. So, the banks need to go where their customers go and hence the banks have also been forced into looking into opportunities in this space.
Citi is looking into trading, custody and financing in the crypto industry, as per comments from Citi’s global head of foreign exchange, Itay Tuchman. He also added that the bank was not in a rush and didn’t want to be caught out with FOMO interest. He also revealed that the bank would enter when it feels right and when it is ready as far as the regulators and the investors are concerned.
He also added that the space was still developing and time and space for more entrants. “This isn’t a space race,” he said, adding: “There is room for more than just one flag.”
This continues the growing interest around cryptocurrencies among investors, companies and banks alike and this has seen a spike over the last few months as the prices of bitcoin and many other major cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed in recent months.
Though the crypto world continues to have its sceptics in Warren Buffet and other major investors, the younger billionaires seem to be showing keen interest in the blockchain and crypto world and they have been led by the likes of Elon Musk who has been a strong advocate of Bitcoin and also Dogecoin as well, in recent months.
There has been attempts to push bitcoin as a mainstream digital currency and this push has brought in huge investments into this space. This, combined with the large interest in the Defi space and its growth, has made many investors and financial services companies to sit up and take notice.
This concerted effort has led to many banks like JP Morgan, BNY Mellon etc to actively mull their entry and when that begins to happen, we can see another surge in the crypto and digital currency industry.
