TL;DR
- Citi and Coinbase have launched a partnership to develop digital-asset payment tools for the bank’s corporate clients.
- The alliance aims to eliminate the historical friction of moving funds between crypto applications and traditional accounts.
- Citi will explore programmable and on-chain payments with stablecoins, leveraging Coinbase’s technical infrastructure.
Citi and Coinbase have initiated a collaboration to develop digital-asset payment solutions for the bank’s corporate clients. The partnership aims to streamline transfers between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, including cross-border operations.
The initiative seeks to end the longstanding friction of moving funds between crypto apps and traditional bank accounts. Using stablecoins would enable 24/7 payments and faster settlement times compared with ACH or wire transfers, which often take hours or days.
A New Payment System for Corporations
Citi’s payments division identified the need to offer programmable payments and automated payment conditions, alongside improvements in cost, speed, and efficiency for institutional clients. Debopama Sen, head of payments at Citi Services, confirmed that the bank will explore solutions to enable on-chain stablecoin payments in the coming months.
Citi sees stablecoins as a key enabler of the digital payment ecosystem, which is increasingly critical for corporations and institutions. The bank projects that the stablecoin market could exceed $1 trillion within five years, up from roughly $300 billion today.
Coinbase Brings Technical Expertise
The partnership relies on Coinbase’s technical expertise, as the exchange already provides infrastructure to more than 250 banks and financial institutions worldwide. Brian Foster, global head of crypto-as-a-service at Coinbase, highlighted that the firm has developed specialized infrastructure for services including spot and derivatives trading, custody, staking, and payments.
Citi previously launched a blockchain-based platform allowing clients to move funds continuously within the bank’s network using tokenized deposits. The new partnership with Coinbase aims to expand this approach with additional integrations that facilitate movement between crypto ecosystems and traditional payment rails.
Industry analysts view the collaboration as a clear sign of traditional banking’s growing interest in integrating digital assets into its service offerings. The combination of stablecoins, crypto ETFs, and tokenized assets is pushing major institutions to adopt technological solutions that reduce operational friction and increase efficiency.
Citi and Coinbase could accelerate institutional adoption of programmable digital payments, providing corporate clients with faster, more direct, and cost-effective ways to move liquidity between fiat and cryptocurrencies
