The bank is awaiting approval for cryptocurrency transactions from financial regulators. Customer demand for bitcoin has surged after it strengthened to $50k.
Banking giant Citigroup is awaiting approval from financial regulators to start trading bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), CoinDesk writes citing anonymous sources. They reported that demand from the company's clients for the first cryptocurrency increased after its price reached $50,000 again.
According to the publication's sources, Citi is recruiting for a London-based unit that specializes in cryptocurrency. The financial conglomerate is expected to first be licensed to trade bitcoin futures on the CME and then ETN exchange-traded notes.
"We are currently looking at futures for some of our institutional clients," Citigroup said.
The bank has about $23.7 trillion in assets under custody. In June, the financial conglomerate announced the creation of a unit focused on the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. The new group was named Digital Assets Group and became part of the Citi Global Wealth Investment asset management division.
Major US banks are actively entering the crypto market. In mid-July, it was reported that some Bank of America clients had gained access to bitcoin futures trading. And in June, Goldman Sachs entered into a partnership with Galaxy Digital to trade more cryptocurrency futures.
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