TradFi giants made 345 blockchain investments between 2020–2024, with G-SIBs leading 100+ deals across tokenization, custody and payments. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Japan’s SBI Group have emerged as the most active players in traditional finance backing blockchain startups, according to a new report by Ripple in partnership with CB Insights and the UK Centre for Blockchain Technologies. Between 2020 and 2024, global banks participated in 345 investments in blockchain companies, most of them in early-stage funding rounds, per the report. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs led the pack with 18 deals each, while JP Morgan and Mitsubishi UFJ followed closely with 15 investments. Mega-rounds, deals worth $100 million or more, were a key focus. Banks contributed to 33 such rounds during the four-year window, pouring capital into firms focused on trading infrastructure, tokenization, custody, and payment solutions. Read more
Citi is exploring cryptocurrency custody and payment services, with an initial focus on stablecoin-backed assets. Wall Street giant Citigroup is weighing plans to offer cryptocurrency custody and payment services, aiming to capitalize on a market bolstered by Trump-era regulatory approvals and pro-industry legislation. Biswarup Chatterjee, a Citigroup executive, told Reuters that the bank’s initial focus would likely be custody services for “high-quality assets backing stablecoins.” Chatterjee works within Citigroup’s services division, which manages treasury, payments, cash management and other enterprise solutions for large corporations. Read more