Citigroup Is Awaiting Regulatory Approval To Trade CME Bitcoin Futures: Report

What Happened: Wall-street banking giant Citigroup Inc C is reportedly on the brink of trading Bitcoin BTC/USD futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)

According to a report from CoinDesk, sources within the bank said that Citi is currently awaiting regulatory approval to begin trading these contracts.

“The team is likely to win approval to begin trading CME bitcoin futures first and then bitcoin exchange-traded notes (ETNs),” said another source familiar with the crypto derivatives market.

The source also claimed that Citi is in the midst of actively recruiting people to join a crypto-focused team in London. 

Read also: Deloitte Blockchain Survey: Majority Believe Crypto Will Replace Fiat Within 10 Years

These reports were later denied by a spokesperson for Citi, who told Business Insider that the bank is not presently considering starting a crypto-focused team in London or looking into ETNs.

However, the Citigroup spokesperson told both publications in a statement that, at present, the bank is considering products such as futures for some of its institutional clients, “as these operate under strong regulatory frameworks."

If it does begin trading Bitcoin futures, Citi will join fellow banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS that began offering investors access to non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) tied to the price of Bitcoin in May.

“The new offering is paving the way for us to evolve our nascent cash-settled crypto-currency capabilities,” said Goldman’s Asia-Pacific Head of Digital Assets Max Minton at the time.

Price Action: Citigroup shares were trading 1.63%, at $73.22 at press time.

Goldman Sachs stock was trading at $413.31, up 1.16%.

Meanwhile, in crypto markets, Bitcoin gained 1.08% over the last 24-hours and was trading at $48,888 at press time.