Citigroup weighs revisiting its partnership with Metaco

The banking conglomerate Citigroup is seeking a replacement for the Swiss crypto custodian Metaco after Ripple Labs announced the acquisition of the latter for $250 million. Bloomberg reports.

According to anonymous sources, the financial giant is already in talks with several digital-asset custody providers.

Citigroup selected Metaco as its depository partner в июне 2022 года. Under the agreement, the firm launched the Harmonize platform to manage its cryptocurrency portfolio.

The group has more than 200 million client accounts and operates in 160 countries and jurisdictions.

There is no confirmation yet that the decision to end the partnership with Metaco is related to Ripple’s acquisition. Earlier, the company said that the custodian would continue to operate as an independent brand and would still be led by CEO Adrien Treccani.

Founded in 2015, Metaco offers enterprise-grade solutions for interacting with digital assets. Its Harmonize platform is already used by financial institutions Societe Generale, BBVA, DBS, UnionBank, BNP Paribas, DekaBank and DZ Bank.

In November 2021, Citigroup announced the launch of a crypto-focused division for institutional clients. Under the initiative, the bank planned to hire 100 specialists.

In August 2022, Citigroup posted several vacancies for DeFi risk-management managers and CBDC.