CEO says Citigroup Not Interested in Bitcoin, Very Interested in Blockchain
Sharing his thoughts in an interview with The Nikkei, Citigroup’s CEO Michael Corbat spoke about future technologies but stated that the corporation was “not interested” in Bitcoin.
Citigroup is a leading American multinational investment bank and a corporation committed to the adoption of digital technology. Speaking about the future of digital payments, the CEO emphasized the need for convenience and passive authentication and also commented on the end of “plastic money”:
“I say to our credit card people, when you think of what payments has to be, it has to be faster than [mimes swiping a card]. The key to the future is not so much around data protection, as it is authentication. And how do we actually authenticate it's you in a passive way? Biometrics ... face, walk, thumbprint, eye scan, voice. ... Multifactor passive identification I think is where things are going. And so when I say that credit cards are going away, I'm referring to the physical plastic.”
He was then asked about Bitcoin, and how JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, called it a fraud, while others like Goldman Sachs are exploring it.
“I'm never dismissive of new things. But like many new things, its original application may not or likely won't be the end state. When we look at bitcoin, we all think and believe that the underlying blockchain technology [is] very valuable. When I look at bitcoin itself, I struggle a bit. What is it? Is it a currency? I don't necessarily think it is. Is it a speculative investment? Probably more so. And if you actually look at some of the primary uses of bitcoin, it's tax evasion, it's money laundering. So again, I'm not dismissive of it at all, but as a prolific currency, I don't see that in today's form.”
Finally, in response to a question about Citigroup’s approach towards Bitcoin, the CEO categorically stated:
“We're not involved in it. Very interested in the technology, not interested in the instrument.”
Bitcoin on the other hand, has been setting records this week as it moved up and broke through the $5,000 barrier and even closed in on $6,000 before retracing and consolidating around $5,500.
With these price moves, the total market cap for Bitcoin touched $97 Billion, making it bigger than major companies like Bayer, UPS, Mitsubishi, Nike and Goldman Sachs.
However, despite Bitcoin’s resilience, financial bigwigs have been keen on putting it down, and we recently reported the CEO of Mastercard, Ajay Banga, calling Bitcoin “junk”.
That being said, the International Monetary Fund seems to have taken a more cautionary stance, with the Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, advising monetary policymakers and central banks to be mindful of digital currencies and stated that disruptions are coming soon.
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