citibank

According to CoinDesk, Citibank stated in its latest report that the progress of quantum computing technology is faster than the market expected, accelerating the potential security risks faced by cryptocurrencies and internet infrastructure, with Bitcoin being considered one of the assets with the "greatest risk exposure." The report points out that the ECDSA elliptic curve cryptography system currently used by Bitcoin could theoretically be cracked by sufficiently powerful quantum computers. In the future, attackers may be able to derive private keys from publicly disclosed public keys, allowing them to forge transactions and steal assets.Citibank analyst Alex Saunders stated that due to its relatively conservative governance mechanism and slow protocol upgrade speed, Bitcoin is more difficult to quickly complete quantum-resistant upgrades compared to PoS networks like Ethereum. The report estimates that there are currently about 6.5 million to 6.9 million BTC at potential quantum risk due to exposed public keys, accounting for about one-third of the current circulating supply, valued at approximately $450 billion at current prices. This includes some early P2PK addresses and wallets believed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto.Citibank also warns of the "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" risk, where attackers currently collect encrypted data and wait until future quantum computing power matures to decrypt it all at once.However, Citibank remains optimistic about the long-term adaptability of the cryptocurrency industry, believing that blockchain can still migrate through post-quantum cryptography and protocol reconstruction in the future. The report mentions that the BIP-360 and BIP-361 upgrade proposals currently being discussed by the Bitcoin community are worth paying attention to.

According to Jinshi News, Citibank expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September, whereas the market previously anticipated a rate cut in June.

A report released by Citibank indicates that Bitcoin could reach $165,000 this year. The bank manages assets totaling $25 trillion.

Due to Citigroup analysts lowering their price forecasts for Bitcoin and Ethereum, the stock of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini (GEMI) fell more than 16% on Wednesday. Citigroup downgraded Gemini's rating from "Neutral" to "Sell," and significantly cut its target price from $13 to $5.5, citing that the exchange may take years to achieve profitability.Analysts indicated that as the U.S. midterm elections approach, the likelihood of significant cryptocurrency legislation passing this year is decreasing. Currently, Gemini has planned to exit the markets in the UK, EU, and Australia, and is laying off 25% of its workforce to reduce operating expenses and accelerate its path to profitability.

Citigroup has lowered its 12-month price target for Bitcoin from $143,000 to $112,000, and for Ethereum from $4,304 to $3,175.The bank pointed out that factors such as the stalled progress of U.S. cryptocurrency legislation, declining expectations for ETF fund inflows, and weak on-chain activity are the main reasons for this adjustment in forecasts. The current market trend remains highly dependent on U.S. regulatory developments. Although the CLARITY Act has passed in the House of Representatives, its progress in the Senate has been stalled, and legislative uncertainty continues to restrict institutional capital entry.Citigroup also stated that despite the recent resilience of ETF fund inflows, it has lowered its 12-month fund inflow expectations for Bitcoin and Ethereum to $10 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively. However, Citigroup indicated that in an optimistic scenario, Bitcoin could still reach $165,000 and Ethereum $4,488.

According to Crowdfund Insider, Nisha Surendran, Head of Digital Asset Custody Development at Citibank, announced at an industry event hosted by Strategy that Citibank plans to integrate Bitcoin into its core banking operations later in 2026, offering institutional-grade custody services, key management, and wallet systems.The platform will extend traditional tax reporting, compliance, and risk management processes to Bitcoin holdings, and support 24/7 operations, Swift global transfer messaging, and API connections. Citibank currently manages approximately $30 trillion in assets, and this move aims to eliminate operational barriers for institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies regarding crypto assets.Surendran stated that the first phase will launch core custody functions, with subsequent gradual expansion to services such as asset segregation and collateral management.

According to official news, Citibank announced that it has tokenized a bill of exchange and completed its entire lifecycle (from issuance to settlement) on the Solana blockchain.

According to Jinshi News, Citibank believes that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in May, previously expected in March.

According to CoinDesk, Citibank has lowered the target price for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase from $505 to $400, a decrease of about 20%, primarily due to weak trading volumes, slowing institutional activity, and uncertainty regarding the progress of U.S. cryptocurrency legislation.The bank also reduced its net revenue forecast for Coinbase's fourth quarter of 2025 by about 10% to $1.69 billion and expects a U.S. GAAP loss per share of $2.64 for that quarter, partly due to its cryptocurrency asset holdings and the impairment of its stake in Circle.Despite the lowered target price, Citibank maintains a "Buy/High Risk" rating on Coinbase, believing it to be an industry leader that will benefit from the eventual cryptocurrency regulatory reforms.The bank pointed out that legislative progress, such as the Clarity Act, remains a key catalyst for driving a stock price recovery, but currently expects Senate negotiations on the market structure bill to potentially extend into 2026 and beyond.Coinbase's stock price has fallen about 65% from its all-time high, rising 6% in pre-market trading on the 6th as the market slightly rebounded.

According to Jinshi reports, Citigroup expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in March, July, and September, whereas the previous forecast was for rate cuts in January, March, and September this year.

According to Jinshi News, Citigroup expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points again in September 2026, while maintaining its previous forecast of a 25 basis point cut in January and March.

In response to Arthur Hayes' doubts about USDT operations, former Citibank crypto research head Joseph stated on the X platform that @CryptoHayes' analysis missed several key points:Disclosure of assets ≠ total corporate assetsUSDT discloses reserves based on the "matching principle," but its undisclosed balance sheet includes equity investment income, mining operations, corporate reserves, and potential Bitcoin holdings, with remaining profits distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends.Ultra-high profit margins and equity valueTether holds $120 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds (with an annual yield of 4%), generating an annual net profit of about $10 billion starting in 2023 (with only 150 employees), making it the world's most efficient money printer;The equity valuation could reach $50-100 billion (recently planning to raise $20 billion for a 3% equity stake, with a high valuation but strong fundamentals).Comparative advantages of bank-level reservesTraditional banks maintain only 5-15% liquid assets, while USDT's collateralization rate is clearly higher.Key difference: banks have central bank lender of last resort support, while USDT relies on its own asset liquidity.Conclusion: Tether not only will not face a crisis but also controls the strongest profit engine in the crypto world.Subsequently, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino expressed his gratitude for the support in the comments section.

Citibank and Swift announced the completion of a pilot project for Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) settlement processes between fiat and digital currencies, validating the feasibility of interoperability between traditional financial systems and distributed ledger networks. This pilot was implemented using existing Swift infrastructure and achieved through seamless integration of institutional-grade blockchain connectors, business process coordinators, and smart contracts. Additionally, in the pilot, Citibank utilized the test version of USDC on the Ethereum Sepolia testnet to simulate a near-production environment.

According to CoinDesk, Wall Street giant Citibank has warned that Bitcoin's weak trading pattern may signal a downturn in the Nasdaq 100 index.Citibank analysts noted in a report on Thursday that Bitcoin's trading behavior has historically been closely correlated with the performance of the Nasdaq 100: when the cryptocurrency's price is above the 55-day moving average, Nasdaq's returns significantly improve. Currently, Bitcoin has fallen below this threshold, and the risk-adjusted returns in the stock market have weakened. The bank's analysts attributed the recent weakness in cryptocurrencies mainly to tightening liquidity conditions. The U.S. Treasury's rebuilding of cash balances, combined with a decline of about $500 billion in bank reserves since mid-July, has drained liquidity and put pressure on risk assets. However, the report pointed out that the Treasury's balance is now approaching levels where rebuilding typically stops, suggesting that liquidity may soon improve, thereby boosting Bitcoin and stocks.

According to CoinDesk, Wall Street bank Citigroup stated that although the stock market has performed strongly, the cryptocurrency market has weakened again recently, with significant liquidations in October undermining investor confidence.The sell-off has led to a decrease in risk appetite among leveraged traders and new spot ETF investors, who have pulled back their investments. Recently, the inflow of funds into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has significantly decreased, weakening a key factor supporting the market's optimistic outlook.Citigroup had originally predicted that as financial advisors increased their Bitcoin exposure, ETF funds would continue to flow in, but now the momentum has stalled, and market sentiment may remain subdued.On-chain data has also added to the cautious atmosphere, with a decline in the number of large Bitcoin holders and an increase in the number of small retail wallets. The decrease in financing rates indicates that long-term investors may be selling off, and leverage demand is also weakening. Technically, Bitcoin has fallen below the 200-day moving average, which may further suppress demand. Citigroup has also linked Bitcoin's weakness to tightening bank liquidity. The report concludes that the flow of funds into spot ETFs is a key signal for observing shifts in cryptocurrency market sentiment.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Citigroup and Coinbase Global have announced a partnership to jointly expand digital asset payment capabilities, providing services for the bank's corporate clients.This is the latest case of Wall Street giants turning to the blockchain space for innovation against the backdrop of regulatory agencies continuously warning about the risks of digital assets for years. The initial focus of the collaboration will be to explore how to simplify the fund conversion process for Citigroup's institutional clients— including the conversion of cryptocurrency to fiat currency, as well as the reverse operation of purchasing cryptocurrency with fiat currency, covering cross-border scenarios.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Citibank has released a report indicating that stablecoins may drive the next growth phase of cryptocurrency.The bank's analysts compared stablecoins to the rise of money market funds in the 1980s, noting that the main driving force behind stablecoins is their role as a "store of value" in emerging markets facing inflation or institutional weakness, which could further stimulate demand for dollar assets but may also trigger policy responses to limit dollarization.

ChainCatcher news, according to CNBC, Citibank is planning to launch a cryptocurrency custody service in 2026, as stated by an executive from the bank during an interview.As Wall Street giants continue to expand their footprint in the digital currency space, this move by Citibank indicates that traditional financial institutions are accelerating their entry into this arena. Biswarup Chatterjee, the bank's Global Head of Services Collaboration and Innovation, mentioned that the bank has been developing cryptocurrency custody services over the past two to three years and has made substantial progress.Chatterjee said, "We are exploring multiple avenues. We hope to launch a trusted custody solution in the coming quarters for our asset management clients and other institutional clients."