Citibank's latest "2025 Securities Services Development Survey" shows that Wall Street executives are confident about the future of digital assets. It is expected that by 2030, as tokenized securities enter the mainstream adoption phase, crypto assets will capture 10% of the global post-trade market, corresponding to approximately $2 trillion in daily volume. The survey covers 537 financial leaders, with North American respondents being the most optimistic, believing that regulatory clarity will drive a 14% growth in digital asset turnover.
The digitalization of the market after the transaction enters an acceleration period
(Source: Citibank)
Surveys show that 85% of respondents list "accelerated settlement, digital asset adoption, and automation" as the top priorities for the next five years. The global traditional financial market infrastructure, which supports about 40% of the market value, is facing a structural transformation while encountering competitive pressure from new all-weather encryption brokers.
Stablecoins are seen as a key infrastructure connecting traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Bank-issued Tokens are expected to become core tools for asset tokenization, cross-border settlement, and liquidity management.
Settlement revolution drives the integration of TradFi and DeFi
More than half (52%) of respondents believe that existing financial market infrastructure will play a leading role in the digitalization of the equity and fixed income markets. In the future, custodians will become the core nodes of multi-chain interoperability, and the industry's focus will shift from broad blockchain research and development to specific, quantifiable cost-effective business applications.
Tokenization collateral and funds are the fastest-growing areas, significantly enhancing balance sheet efficiency, reducing financing costs, and improving liquidity ratios by automating daytime financing instead of traditional overnight processes.
Stablecoins as Accelerators in the Trading Lifecycle
(Source: Keyrock)
Bank-issued stablecoins are seen as a tool that achieves the best balance between regulation, yield, and automation, supporting atomic-level payments and instant settlements, eliminating counterparty credit risk.
According to the Keyrock report, the settlement speed of stablecoins is 3-5 times faster than the SWIFT system and costs 10 times less; in Brazil, some companies settle in euros at a speed that is more than 500 times faster than traditional methods, with remittance costs decreasing by 4-13 times.
Currently, approximately 27 trillion USD is idle globally due to prepayment and intermediary links in traditional settlement structures. DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) is expected to release the efficiency of this idle capital through unified messaging and settlement processes.
Industry Perspectives Diverge: Optimism and Conservatism Coexist
Goldman Sachs predicts that as the "stablecoin gold rush" accelerates, Circle's USDC market capitalization is expected to increase by $77 billion between 2024 and 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 40%. The U.S. Treasury Secretary further hinted that stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar and U.S. government bonds could become an important source of demand for government bonds.
However, JPMorgan maintains a conservative stance, predicting that by 2028, the blockchain market size will only reach $500 billion, and points out that currently only about 6% of stablecoin demand comes from actual payment activities, questioning the trillion-dollar growth expectations.
Risks and Regulatory Challenges
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has confirmed that the bank plans to issue a stablecoin, but analyst Ronit Ghose warns that without sufficient regulation, a repeat of the 1980s incident where money market funds withdrew bank deposits could occur.
Nobel laureate in economics Jean Tirole also pointed out that if reserve assets incur losses, it may trigger a token run and force the government to provide bailouts; former Governor of the People's Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan reminded that deposit and loan as well as collateral financing may bring systemic risks that exceed the statutory reserves.
Investopedia analysis shows that the annual risk of major stablecoins is around 3.3–3.9%, meaning the probability of a crisis occurring within ten years is close to one-third.
Conclusion
A survey by Citigroup shows that digital assets are rapidly penetrating the post-trade market, with stablecoins and tokenization assets becoming key drivers in the next five years. While there are differing views within the industry, the goal of having crypto assets account for 10% of the global post-trade market by 2030 is not out of reach, given that the regulatory framework is gradually becoming clearer and settlement efficiency is significantly improving. Investors and institutions should closely monitor the progress of the fusion between TradFi and DeFi, as this will directly impact the operational model of global capital markets.
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Citigroup: By 2030, encrypted assets may account for 10% of the global post-trade market, with daily volume reaching 2 trillion dollars.
Citibank's latest "2025 Securities Services Development Survey" shows that Wall Street executives are confident about the future of digital assets. It is expected that by 2030, as tokenized securities enter the mainstream adoption phase, crypto assets will capture 10% of the global post-trade market, corresponding to approximately $2 trillion in daily volume. The survey covers 537 financial leaders, with North American respondents being the most optimistic, believing that regulatory clarity will drive a 14% growth in digital asset turnover.
The digitalization of the market after the transaction enters an acceleration period
(Source: Citibank)
Surveys show that 85% of respondents list "accelerated settlement, digital asset adoption, and automation" as the top priorities for the next five years. The global traditional financial market infrastructure, which supports about 40% of the market value, is facing a structural transformation while encountering competitive pressure from new all-weather encryption brokers.
Stablecoins are seen as a key infrastructure connecting traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Bank-issued Tokens are expected to become core tools for asset tokenization, cross-border settlement, and liquidity management.
Settlement revolution drives the integration of TradFi and DeFi
More than half (52%) of respondents believe that existing financial market infrastructure will play a leading role in the digitalization of the equity and fixed income markets. In the future, custodians will become the core nodes of multi-chain interoperability, and the industry's focus will shift from broad blockchain research and development to specific, quantifiable cost-effective business applications.
Tokenization collateral and funds are the fastest-growing areas, significantly enhancing balance sheet efficiency, reducing financing costs, and improving liquidity ratios by automating daytime financing instead of traditional overnight processes.
Stablecoins as Accelerators in the Trading Lifecycle
(Source: Keyrock)
Bank-issued stablecoins are seen as a tool that achieves the best balance between regulation, yield, and automation, supporting atomic-level payments and instant settlements, eliminating counterparty credit risk.
According to the Keyrock report, the settlement speed of stablecoins is 3-5 times faster than the SWIFT system and costs 10 times less; in Brazil, some companies settle in euros at a speed that is more than 500 times faster than traditional methods, with remittance costs decreasing by 4-13 times.
Currently, approximately 27 trillion USD is idle globally due to prepayment and intermediary links in traditional settlement structures. DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) is expected to release the efficiency of this idle capital through unified messaging and settlement processes.
Industry Perspectives Diverge: Optimism and Conservatism Coexist
Goldman Sachs predicts that as the "stablecoin gold rush" accelerates, Circle's USDC market capitalization is expected to increase by $77 billion between 2024 and 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 40%. The U.S. Treasury Secretary further hinted that stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar and U.S. government bonds could become an important source of demand for government bonds.
However, JPMorgan maintains a conservative stance, predicting that by 2028, the blockchain market size will only reach $500 billion, and points out that currently only about 6% of stablecoin demand comes from actual payment activities, questioning the trillion-dollar growth expectations.
Risks and Regulatory Challenges
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has confirmed that the bank plans to issue a stablecoin, but analyst Ronit Ghose warns that without sufficient regulation, a repeat of the 1980s incident where money market funds withdrew bank deposits could occur.
Nobel laureate in economics Jean Tirole also pointed out that if reserve assets incur losses, it may trigger a token run and force the government to provide bailouts; former Governor of the People's Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan reminded that deposit and loan as well as collateral financing may bring systemic risks that exceed the statutory reserves.
Investopedia analysis shows that the annual risk of major stablecoins is around 3.3–3.9%, meaning the probability of a crisis occurring within ten years is close to one-third.
Conclusion
A survey by Citigroup shows that digital assets are rapidly penetrating the post-trade market, with stablecoins and tokenization assets becoming key drivers in the next five years. While there are differing views within the industry, the goal of having crypto assets account for 10% of the global post-trade market by 2030 is not out of reach, given that the regulatory framework is gradually becoming clearer and settlement efficiency is significantly improving. Investors and institutions should closely monitor the progress of the fusion between TradFi and DeFi, as this will directly impact the operational model of global capital markets.