Citi’s Crypto & AI Uprising: Will Your Portfolio Survive? 🚀

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Finance

What to know:

  • Citi projects that by the year 2030, a tenth of global market turnover shall be tokenized, led by bank-issued stablecoins, those paragons of reliability. 🎩💼
  • Tech-enabled automation, that most vexing of innovations, shall aid firms in meeting the challenge of T+1 settlement, a matter of utmost urgency. 🤖
  • 86% are piloting GenAI, with client onboarding and post-trade reporting as key use cases-though one might question if such endeavors are truly for the benefit of mankind. 🧠

In the realm of finance, a most remarkable transformation is afoot, driven by digital assets and AI, according to Citi’s latest “Securities Services Evolution” whitepaper. One might say, with the utmost seriousness, that the post-trade industry is at a crossroads, teetering between the old ways and the new, which, if one may be so bold, seems rather alarming. 📈

The bank’s fifth annual survey, which gathered input from 537 market participants-including custodians, broker-dealers, and asset managers-highlights how tokenization, accelerated settlements, and AI-driven automation are reshaping trade processing, a development that is both thrilling and utterly bewildering. 🤯

Citi estimates that by 2030, 10% of market turnover could be conducted through tokenized assets, a notion that would have left our forebears in a state of high dudgeon. The report points to bank-issued stablecoins as the main enabler, helping with collateral efficiency and fund tokenization. Asia-Pacific, ever the trendsetter, is already leading adoption, thanks to strong retail interest in crypto and regulatory support for digital assets. 🏦

The use of AI will further drive post-trade efficiency, the report states. Some 86% of surveyed firms say they are testing the technology for client onboarding as the key use case for asset managers, custodians, and broker-dealers. A further 57% indicated that their organizations are piloting the technology for post-trade specifically-a testament to the relentless march of progress. 🤖

Speed and automation are a priority, Citi said, as the post-trade industry faces the cumulative workload of moving to T+1, a standard settlement cycle for securities transactions where the trade is settled one business day after the trade date. One might argue that this is but a minor inconvenience, yet the industry seems to regard it as a matter of life and death. ⏱️

“From accelerated settlements to automation in asset servicing, and increased shareholder participation and governance, the collective vision of firms worldwide is converging on the same core themes. The industry is at the cusp of significant change as market participants intensify their focus on T+1, accelerate the adoption of digital assets, and implement GenAI across their operations,” said Chris Cox, Head of Investor Services, Citi. A statement as grand as it is enigmatic. 🧐

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2025-09-02 14:18