Citi CEO Calls Digital Assets the Future of Global Payments and Liquidity

Citigroup (C) CEO Jane Fraser said the banking giant is actively developing digital asset capabilities, including exploring the potential launch of its own stablecoin.

Fraser said that “we are looking at the issuance of a Citi stablecoin” during the Q&A section of the bank’s second quarter of 2025 earnings call. However, Fraser made it clear that tokenized deposits currently represent the more immediate focus. She added that these innovations are helping Citi modernize internal operations, unlock new revenue streams, and acquire clients.

Fraser’s comments come as stablecoins are having a moment this year within the digital assets sector. More crypto firms and traditional banks are jumping into the stablecoin sector, as they are increasingly used for trading and cross-border payments.

Citi’s own research team said this year could be a pivotal year for blockchain adoption, driven by the growth of stablecoins, and by 2030, the stablecoin market, primarily pegged to the U.S. dollar, could grow up to $3.7 trillion.

Even Jamie Dimon, CEO of global banking giant JPMorgan (JPM), and a crypto skeptic, recently said that the bank plans to get more involved in stablecoins.

During the earnings call, Citi’s Fraser said the bank views digital assets as the next step in the broader digitization of finance, echoing the earlier shift brought on by fintech. She emphasized that Citi’s strategy is centered on meeting client demand for seamless, cross-border, multi-bank, always-on solutions with built-in compliance, reporting, and accounting features.

She outlined four key areas Citi is pursuing: stablecoin reserve management, on- and off-ramps between fiat and digital currencies, custodial services for crypto, and tokenized deposits — calling the last of these its most active area.

Citi’s upbeat stablecoin comments also come during so-called “crypto week,” when U.S. regulators are set to pass several bills to provide more regulatory clarity on stablecoins and other digital assets. However, the bills’ passage hit a roadblock on Tuesday as members of the House Freedom Caucus objected to the way some of the legislation had developed under Senate dominance.

Citigroup reported second-quarter 2025 net income of $4.0 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share, up from $3.2 billion, or $1.52 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $21.7 billion, an 8% increase from Q2 2024, driven by growth across all five of the bank’s core businesses.