Wall Street giant Citi and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced a major partnership today to develop digital asset payment solutions for institutional clients.
The collaboration marks another significant step in bringing traditional banking and blockchain technology together.
The partnership will initially focus on making it easier for Citi’s institutional clients to move money in and out of digital assets. This includes supporting Coinbase’s on-ramps and off-ramps, which are services that convert regular money into cryptocurrency and back again. The companies also plan to explore 24/7 fiat-to-stablecoin payment options in the future.
What This Partnership Means
Debopama Sen, Head of Payments and Services at Citi, explained that the financial world is changing rapidly. Citi operates more than 300 payment clearing networks across 94 markets worldwide. The bank sees working with Coinbase as a natural extension of its “network of networks” approach, helping clients make payments without worrying about borders.
Brian Foster, Global Head of Crypto as a Service at Coinbase, said Citi’s global network and payment expertise make them an ideal partner. By combining Citi’s reach with Coinbase’s leadership in digital assets, they aim to create solutions that simplify access to digital asset payments.
Source: @coinbase
The market responded positively to the news. Coinbase stock jumped up to 3.6% after the announcement and was trading at $369.50 the next day, up 4.5% intraday and 7% over five days. The rally was also helped by JPMorgan upgrading Coinbase to an overweight rating with a $404 price target.
Citi’s Growing Crypto Ambitions
This partnership is part of Citi’s broader push into digital assets. The bank is planning to launch crypto custody services in 2026, after developing the capability for the past two to three years. This means Citi would hold native cryptocurrencies for clients, similar to how banks hold traditional securities.
Citi CEO Jane Fraser revealed in July 2025 that the bank is also considering launching its own stablecoin. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged to the U.S. dollar. The bank sees massive potential in this market.
In September 2025, Citi revised its stablecoin forecast, predicting the market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030 in a base scenario. If adoption accelerates faster than expected, the market could grow as much as $4 trillion. To back up this bet, Citi Ventures invested in BVNK in October 2025, a London-based company that builds infrastructure for stablecoin payments.
The bank already operates Citi Token Services, which uses a private blockchain to move money within Citi’s network. This system works with Citi’s 24/7 USD Clearing solution, which handles transactions for over 250 banks across more than 40 markets, enabling round-the-clock cross-border payments.
Why Wall Street Is Embracing Crypto Now
Several factors are driving traditional banks into digital assets. A more favorable regulatory environment in the United States under the current administration has encouraged American banks to offer more crypto-related services.
In June 2025, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act with a 68-30 vote. This law created the first federal framework for stablecoin regulation in the United States. It requires stablecoin issuers to hold actual dollars or liquid assets to back every digital token, providing clarity that the industry had been seeking.
Demand from institutional clients is also growing rapidly. A survey of 352 institutional investors conducted by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon in January 2025 found that more than three-quarters expect to increase their digital asset allocations in 2025. Fifty-nine percent plan to allocate over 5% of assets under management to digital assets. Additionally, 84% of institutions are either already using or interested in using stablecoins for yield, transactional convenience, and efficient foreign exchange.
Stablecoin payment volumes have grown to $19.4 billion year-to-date in 2025, showing real demand for these services.
Coinbase’s Institutional Strategy
Coinbase has been building its position as the go-to crypto infrastructure provider for traditional finance. The company now serves as the trusted crypto partner to more than 200 of the world’s leading banks, brokers, fintechs, and payment firms through its Crypto-as-a-Service platform.
The company has secured several high-profile partnerships. Coinbase partnered with BlackRock to provide institutional clients of Aladdin with direct access to crypto through Coinbase Prime, which serves over 13,000 institutional clients. JPMorgan also launched JPMD, its deposit token, in 2025, running on Coinbase’s Base blockchain and handling institutional transactions with round-the-clock settlement and interest payments.
Competition Heating Up
Citi isn’t the only major bank exploring digital assets. The Wall Street Journal reported that JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are also exploring potential stablecoin initiatives. However, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said this year that while the bank will let clients buy cryptocurrencies, it will not custody the asset. This puts Citi in a smaller group pursuing full-scale crypto custody services.
Citi banks 90% of the top eCommerce companies and 15 of the world’s 20 largest FinTechs, giving it significant reach in the digital economy. The bank sees tokenization as a $5 trillion market by 2030, making this partnership with Coinbase strategically important for capturing that opportunity.
The Road Ahead
The Citi-Coinbase partnership represents a major milestone in bridging traditional banking and blockchain finance. By combining Citi’s global payment infrastructure with Coinbase’s digital asset expertise, the partnership could accelerate institutional adoption of crypto payments.
As regulatory clarity improves and institutional demand grows, we’re likely to see more collaborations between Wall Street banks and cryptocurrency platforms. The race is on to build the financial infrastructure of the future, and today’s announcement shows that traditional finance and digital assets are converging faster than ever before.
