Citigroup and Coinbase Partner for Stablecoin Payments
Citigroup may soon become one of the first major Wall Street banks to support stablecoin-based payments, signaling broader institutional adoption of tokenized dollars after the GENIUS Act was approved earlier this year. Bloomberg reports that Citi has teamed up with Coinbase to enhance its digital asset infrastructure, beginning with streamlined movement between cryptocurrency and fiat for its clients.
Debopama Sen, Citi’s head of payments, said demand is rising for programmability, conditional settlement, constant payment availability, and faster processing. She noted that Citi is “exploring solutions to enable onchain stablecoin payments for our clients,” and added, “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.”
The bank’s growing focus comes shortly after it sharply revised its outlook for the sector. Citi now expects the stablecoin market to potentially expand to $4 trillion by 2030, compared to roughly $315 billion today.
Banks race to adapt before new rules
The GENIUS Act — which forms a clear regulatory foundation for stablecoins and becomes fully effective in early 2027 — has prompted traditional financial institutions to accelerate development in this area. Citigroup now joins JPMorgan, Bank of America, and others exploring stablecoin-related services. Even JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon, historically skeptical of cryptocurrency, recently stated that the bank “plans to be involved” in stablecoin development.
Investor interest builds with institutional support
Enthusiasm for stablecoins is rising in capital markets as well. Circle, the company behind USDC — the second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin — completed a highly successful public listing earlier this year, with shares jumping 167% on debut.
Circle’s current market valuation stands at around $35 billion, underscoring how rapidly this segment of the digital asset industry continues to grow.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/citi-coinbase-stablecoin-payments-forecast-2030