Wall Street firm Citigroup has officially launched new crypto and a blockchain-based business unit called the Digital Assets Group within its wealth management division at the bank.

Citigroup Launches the Digital Assets Group

Banking giant Citigroup is the latest institution to offer crypto services for its wealthy clients by launching a new digital asset unit dedicated to blockchain and the nascent asset class.

The new unit will be part of the financial institution’s wealth management division called Citi Global Wealth Investments.

The newly launched digital asset unit will be led by Alex Kriete and Greg Girasole who will work on developing products and work in tandem with the firm’s functional partners and the broader capital markets and investment management teams to “develop a robust and scalable value proposition.”

“Alex and Greg will be responsible for advancing the efforts of CGWI to become a market-leading partner for our clients interested in all aspects of the digital asset space” reads the announcement memo.

“Given the exciting new developments we are seeing around cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and other advances powered by blockchain technology, we are pleased to announce the formation of the Digital Assets Group” the memo continued.

Leading Financial Institutions are Eyeing the Nascent Asset Class

Citigroup had been planning to enter the crypto space for a long time and had finally taken the first step by launching its own digital assets unit as the demand for cryptocurrencies continues to rise.

The digital asset unit has been launched dedicated to the crypto and blockchain space and will focus on developing products related to the same to provide a solid value proposition to the investors.

These aspects include cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFT), stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDC), according to the memo signed by Citi’s Iain Armitage, global head of capital markets, and Rob Jasminski, global head.

The announcement comes at a time after Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have launched their own initiatives to offer crypto-related services to their wealthy clients.