Citigroup is actively considering the trading of Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts on CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), echoing efforts by several other banks to bring additional cryptocurrency exposure to its clients. Given the strict supervision that such investment offers are subject to, the global bank is contemplating futures products for a handful of its institutional clients at this given time.
Caution Must Be Exercised
According to a Citi representative, the numerous uncertainties surrounding legal frameworks and supervisory expectations have to be considered beforehand and so a cautious approach would be recommended.
This makes sense as Citi offers a wide range of financial goods and services to individuals, companies, institutions, and governments, including consumer securities trading, corporate and investment banking, transaction services, wealth management, banking, and credit. It has over 200 million client accounts and is active in over 160 nations worldwide. So, it can ill afford a mistake at this crucial stage.
What Caused This?
The corporation&39s proposed intentions come many months after Goldman Sachs revealed a digital assets strategy that included providing BTC derivatives to customers and creating a cryptocurrency trading desk.
Moreover, Bank of America was also allegedly planning to utilize Bitcoin futures via CME Group last month, immediately after it began researching cryptocurrencies and various digital assets.