BeInCrypto 100 Institutional Awards Nomination: Citi for Leader in Digital Asset Adoption
Digital asset adoption inside international banks has moved previous the pilot stage. The actual query now’s which establishments can join blockchain infrastructure to the techniques that already transfer cash, settle trades, and assist international commerce.
Citi is without doubt one of the banks doing that at scale. The agency is nominated for Leader in Digital Asset Adoption on the BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards 2026.
| Founded | Total Assets | Global Reach | Core Platform | Core Product | Regulatory Context |
| 1812 | $2.6T+ | Nearly 160 nations | CIDAP | Citi (*100*) Services | OCC, Fed, FCA, MAS |
Citi Digital Asset Adoption Snapshot
The nomination facilities on the Citi Integrated Digital Assets Platform, or CIDAP, and the continued rollout of Citi (*100*) Services throughout money administration, liquidity, commerce finance, and tokenized asset workflows.
CIDAP is Citi’s inside bridge between conventional banking techniques and blockchain networks. Citi describes it as a core pillar of its digital asset technique, supporting use instances throughout fee companies, capital markets, securities, custody, commerce, and FX.
That issues as a result of most institutional shoppers don’t need a separate crypto working mannequin. They need blockchain-based settlement, tokenized deposits, and digital asset companies to attach with the identical techniques they already use.
Moving Tokenized Deposits Into Global Banking
Citi (*100*) Services is the clearest instance of its digital asset adoption shifting into manufacturing infrastructure.
The product makes use of blockchain and sensible contracts to assist tokenized deposits inside Citi’s international community. Citi first introduced the creation and piloting of the service in 2023, saying it could improve core money administration and commerce finance capabilities for institutional shoppers.
Citi (*100*) Services for Cash permits shoppers to switch liquidity between collaborating Citi branches on a 24/7 foundation. Citi (*100*) Services for Trade helps programmable transfers of tokenized deposits, with on the spot funds to service suppliers by way of sensible contracts.
“Leveraging our digital proprietary international community, we’re enabling 24/7, close to on the spot cross-border funds throughout the Citi community and our monetary establishment shoppers – serving to corporates and monetary establishments transfer thousands and thousands of {dollars} in a matter of seconds,” said Debopama Sen, Head of Payments, Services
The money product is very necessary as a result of it tackles one of many oldest issues in international banking: liquidity nonetheless will get trapped by cut-off occasions, settlement home windows, and market hours.
Citi’s 24/7 USD Clearing integration with Citi (*100*) Services helps near-instant liquidity motion throughout Citi and non-Citi accounts in choose markets.
Trade Finance Moves On-Chain
Citi’s adoption story additionally extends into commerce finance.
In its authentic Citi (*100*) Services pilot, Citi labored with Maersk and a canal authority on a digitized resolution much like financial institution ensures and letters of credit score. The pilot used tokenized deposits and sensible contracts to offer on the spot funds to service suppliers. Citi stated the method might cut back transaction processing occasions from days to minutes.
In 2026, Citi pushed that work additional by testing tokenized Bills of Exchange.
Working with PwC and Solana, Citi accomplished an inside proof of idea that represented a invoice of change as a token on blockchain. The take a look at lined issuance, financing, distribution, and settlement in a simulated atmosphere. Citi stated the proof of idea used artificial information and fictitious shoppers, however confirmed how a full commerce finance lifecycle may very well be replicated on blockchain.
That is a sensible improvement. Bills of change are nonetheless tied to paper-heavy and handbook workflows. Tokenizing them might make possession, financing, and reimbursement simpler to trace and settle. Citi’s personal report says tokenization can cut back friction, enhance real-time visibility, and assist higher threat administration throughout the provision chain.
Tokenization Beyond Payments
Citi has additionally examined tokenization in non-public markets.
In 2024, Citi labored with Wellington Management and WisdomTree on a proof of idea for tokenized non-public funds. The take a look at ran on the Avalanche Spruce institutional take a look at subnet and explored how sensible contracts might assist new features and operational efficiencies which might be tough to realize with conventional non-public market infrastructure.
The take a look at tokenized a Wellington-issued non-public fairness fund and encoded distribution guidelines into the sensible contract.
Citi additionally examined smart-contract-based transfers, simulated identification credentials, and using a non-public fund token as collateral in an automatic lending contract with DTCC Digital Assets.
A Bank-Scale Adoption Story
Citi’s nomination shouldn’t be based mostly on a single blockchain experiment. It displays the financial institution’s effort to attach digital property with core institutional banking.
The firm has greater than 200 years of working historical past and does enterprise in almost 160 nations and jurisdictions. Its 2025 annual submitting reported whole property of $2.657 trillion at year-end.
That scale is why Citi’s digital asset work issues. Tokenized deposits, programmable funds, tokenized commerce finance, non-public market tokenization, and future digital asset custody aren’t remoted merchandise. They are items of a wider infrastructure technique.
Citi can also be reportedly investing in digital asset custody and post-trade infrastructure so shoppers can safekeep and mobilize property with the identical confidence they count on in conventional markets. The financial institution says shoppers are more and more anticipating deposits, funds, funding property, and collateral to maneuver throughout conventional and tokenized types with much less friction.
The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards acknowledge corporations constructing the techniques that would outline the following section of finance. Citi’s nomination displays its position in shifting digital property from lab experiments into the working infrastructure of world banking.
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