Citi Partners with Coinbase to Test Stablecoin Payments

Citigroup could become one of Wall Street’s first major banks to offer stablecoin payment services, marking a potential milestone in the broader adoption of tokenized dollars following the passage of the GENIUS Act earlier this year.

According to Bloomberg, Citi has partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase to expand its digital asset capabilities, initially focusing on making it easier for clients to move funds between fiat and crypto.

Debopama Sen, Citi’s head of payments, said the bank’s clients are increasingly seeking programmability, conditional payments and greater speed and efficiency, alongside round-the-cock payment access.

Sen added that Citi is “exploring solutions to enable onchain stablecoin payments for our clients” in the near future.

“Stablecoins will be another enabler in the digital payment ecosystem and it’ll help grow the space, it’ll help grow functionality for our clients,” Sen said.

Citi’s emphasis on stablecoins is hardly surprising. The latest developments come just a month after the bank sharply raised its forecast for the digital dollar market. By 2030, Citi now estimates the stablecoin market could reach $4 trillion, up from roughly $315 billion today.

The stablecoin market has grown from less than $5 billion in early 2020 to over $315 billion. Source: DefiLlama

Related: Tether’s stablecoin business set for another record year of profitability

Wall Street banks are betting on stablecoins

The passage of the US GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins and takes effect in early 2027, has created a sense of urgency among major banks to explore their own stablecoin initiatives.

Citigroup is among a growing group of Wall Street institutions, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, in the early stages of developing stablecoin-related services. Even longtime crypto skeptic Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s CEO, recently told shareholders that the bank “plans to be involved” in stablecoin development.

Investor enthusiasm is rising alongside institutional interest. Circle, the issuer of USDC (USDC) — the world’s second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin — went public earlier this year in a blockbuster debut, with its stock surging 167% on the first day of trading.

Circle currently boasts a market capitalization of around $35 billion.