Citigroup, one of the world’s largest currency trading banks and is now considering joining its fellow banks into cryptocurrency markets. This news comes after Citigroup cites a surge in interest from clients.
I predicted that we would see an influx of banks as they all will need to get into the space or they will lose clients which hurts their bottom lines. It's funny that there is so much pushback from traditional institutions considering this is just capitalism. They are being forced to respond to a surging interest in bitcoin and other cryptos because people want these options. You would think they would want to get involved, but I guess capitalism is not a good thing when it might hurt their legacy systems that make them so much money at their customer's expense.
Citi has not yet decided whether it would offer its clients cryptocurrency related services, bu said that trading, custody and financing were all under consideration.
“There are different options from our perspective and we are considering where we can best service clients. This is not going to be a prop-trading effort,” Tuchman told the Financial Times, referring to proprietary trading in which banks trade on their own accounts.
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So these vague statements make me think Citi will be helping their wealthiest clients get into the pace, but still making it hard for their retail customers. If this is truly the case its a prime example of why retail clients need to speak with their money and if their banks don't have their best interests they need to move their money.
In March, Citi issued a 108-page report noting that despite “a host of risks and obstacles that stand in the way of Bitcoin progress”, the cryptocurrency “may be optimally positioned to become the preferred currency for global trade”.
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They understand there is value, but only might make that available to the rich... It kind of makes me mad that these organization realize the opportunity, but say it's too risky for retail while allowing others access. I want to see this type of action highlighted because this is what is broken with the current system. Their own words highlight this hypocrisy...
“We shouldn’t do anything that’s not safe and sound. We will jump in when we are confident that we can build something that benefits clients and that regulators can support,” “I don’t have any FOMO [fear of missing out] because I believe that crypto is here to stay and that we are just at the very beginning of the market,” he said. “This isn’t a space race. There is room for more than just one flag.”
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However, Tuchman said Citi was in no rush to come to a decision on how deeply it should move into the crypto market.
So we will have to see how this plays out. It's another example of adoption, but not the kind I like. Crypto is by the people for the people nit just the rich. I hope big banks realizes or fade into irreverence.