Major US financial institution Citigroup might offer Bitcoin futures trading to its Institutional investors citing an increase in demand for crypto trading.
As per the reports by news site Coindesk, the company is awaiting approval from regulators to begin trading in Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Headquartered in Manhattan, New York, Citigroup is one of the four largest banks in the United States with over $200 billion in assets under management.
With Bitcoin’s recent price rally taking its value to $50,000 levels, the company saw an increase in demand for futures trading from institutional clients. If the reports were to be true, Citigroup would join financial giant Goldman Sachs in offering bitcoin futures trading.
Another megabank Bank of America had recently started offering CME Bitcoin futures trading to some clients in July.
A second source revealed to Coindesk that the company has been actively hiring traders to join its crypto team in London. In a mail to Coindesk, the spokesperson from Citigroup revealed:
“Given the many questions around regulatory frameworks, supervisory expectations, and other factors, we are being very thoughtful about our approach. We are presently considering products such as futures for some of our institutional clients, as these operate under strong regulatory frameworks.”
However, parts of the report were denied by Citigroup, revealing that claims of starting a crypto team in London were false.