Citi plans to trade Bitcoin futures contracts for some institutional clients

Aug. 24 (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (CN) is considering offering bitcoin futures to some institutional clients, a bank spokesperson said on Tuesday, citing increased demand in the cryptocurrency arena.

Bitcoin prices topped $ 50,000 on Monday, after resisting a crackdown by Chinese authorities on national cryptocurrency mining companies earlier this year, as adoption by businesses and the general public accelerates .

Media Coindesk reported earlier Tuesday that Citi is awaiting regulatory approval to begin trading bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, citing a source within the bank.

“Given the many questions regarding regulatory frameworks, supervisory expectations and other factors, we are very careful with our approach,” a spokesperson for Citi said in an email.

“We are currently considering products such as futures for some of our institutional clients, as these operate within strong regulatory frameworks,” she added.

The bank was weighing the option of providing cryptocurrency-related services in May, according to a Financial Times report.

Business Insider announced in late July that JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) will allow all of its wealth management clients to access cryptocurrency funds.

Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Edited by Ramakrishnan M.

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