Citi group has announced that it has partnered with Swiss crypto custody company METACO to develop and test custody tools for digital assets.
Citi group to expand its digital assets capacity through collaboration
Citibank has 200 million customer accounts covering 160 countries. The investment banking companies hold over $27 trillion of assets under their custody and administration. The goal of this partnership is to integrate METACO’s technology and digital solutions with Citi’s extensive custody network. As a result, the partnership will create a platform where users may safely store and settle digital assets.
The crypto custody firm’s bank-grade digital asset custody platform, Harmonize, will be completely integrated into the banking firm’s infrastructure, according to the press statement. However, the Citi group will be able to expand its capacity for handling digital assets due to this strategic alliance.
The financial company will be able to efficiently and securely enter new markets with the help of the Harmonize platform. However, the technology developed through this partnership will be an integral part of the Citi group.
Okan Pekin, Citi’s Global Head of Securities Services, said that We are witnessing the increasing digitization of traditional investment assets along with new native digital assets. We are innovating and developing new capabilities to support digital asset classes, he added.
Metaverse predicted to represent $13 trillion market opportunity
Earlier, Citi issued a report which predicted that by 2030, the Metaverse ecosystem might represent a $13 trillion market opportunity. The space has the potential to draw 5 billion people worldwide. It added that not just key tech players but digital assets will also have a significant impact.
The benchmark of 5 billion people will include a major part of smartphone users. While users are restricted to VR/AR devices then it can fetch an audience of up to around 1 billion people. It predicted that there will be a mix of crypto and nominal types of money in this space. However, it is expected that NFTs will play a significant role.
