Citi Survey Indicates Wall Street Executives Anticipate Cryptocurrency Will Secure 10% of Post-Trade Market in the Next Five Years

Executives on Wall Street anticipate that digital assets will account for 10% of post-trade market turnover by 2030, equating to around $2 trillion in daily trading volume as tokenized securities reach a pivotal adoption threshold, as indicated by Citi’s Securities Services Evolution 2025 survey.

This forecast is derived from insights gathered from 537 industry leaders over five years, with North American participants exhibiting the most optimism, predicting a 14% digital turnover spurred by recent regulatory clarity.

The survey highlights significant optimism regarding rapid settlement infrastructure, with 85% of respondents emphasizing the importance of faster settlements, digital asset integration, and automation.

Source: Citi Survey

Traditional financial market infrastructures, which underpin 40% of global market capitalization, are undergoing extensive transformation initiatives while contending with competition from zero-legacy “neobrokers” that demand around-the-clock access to cryptocurrencies.

Stablecoins have emerged as vital infrastructure for the digital transition, with bank-issued tokens poised for substantial growth as ideal conduits between traditional and decentralized finance.

This convergence allows traditional institutions to remain trusted gateways while utilizing DeFi mechanisms to enhance speed and efficiency.

Settlement Revolution Drives DeFi-TradFi Convergence

More than 52% of survey participants believe that existing financial market infrastructures will become fundamental enablers of digital markets for equities and fixed income.

Custodians are expected to act as crucial network providers connecting to various blockchains rather than being disrupted by distributed ledger technology.

The industry has shifted its focus from broad blockchain development to targeted business applications with clear cost advantages.

Tokenized collateral and funds represent the fastest-growing sectors, facilitating automated intraday funding processes that replace traditional overnight methods.

This increase in speed enhances balance sheet efficiency, lowers funding costs, and improves liquidity ratios.

The adoption of digital money supports the emerging ecosystem in various forms, with bank-issued stablecoins offering an optimal mix of automation, regulation, and advantages throughout trade lifecycles.

The infrastructure allows for atomic payment-versus-payment transactions that eliminate counterparty credit risk, while integrating messaging and settlement into a single, programmable layer.

Stablecoin settlements can execute transactions 3-5 times quicker and up to 10 times less expensively than SWIFT-based systems.

Source: Keyrock Report

Brazilian companies settling in Euros experience settlement times over 500 times faster than conventional methods, while remittance costs decrease by 4-13 times due to near-instantaneous processing.

Traditional settlement systems depend on correspondent banks, SWIFT messaging separation, and prefunding requirements that leave $27 trillion globally in idle accounts.

Source: Keyrock Report

Legacy systems established during pre-digital times accumulate inefficiencies through numerous intermediaries and batch processing cycles that DLT addresses by providing unified messaging and settlement.

Stablecoin Growth Projections Spark Industry Debate

Earlier in August, Goldman Sachs projected that Circle’s USDC could increase by $77 billion between 2024 and 2027, indicating a 40% compound annual growth as the “stablecoin gold rush” gains momentum.

The investment bank anticipates that regulatory clarity and broader digital asset integration will drive growth beyond the current $271 billion market valuation.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also privately informed Wall Street that stablecoins backed by dollars and U.S. Treasuries could become a significant source of demand for government bonds.

The GENIUS Act framework mandates one-to-one reserves in highly liquid assets, potentially creating multitrillion-dollar engines for U.S. debt markets.

However, industry forecasts vary widely. JPMorgan predicts conservative growth to $500 billion by 2028, citing limited mainstream adoption beyond cryptocurrency trading.

The bank estimates that only 6% of stablecoin demand arises from actual payment activity, raising questions about the trillion-dollar growth scenarios.

Prior to this survey, Citi had previously noted institutional uncertainty as the bank investigates stablecoin custody services while cautioning about risks reminiscent of the 1980s, including deposit flight.

Citi executive warns stablecoin interest payments could drain bank deposits like the 1980s crisis amid GENIUS Act loophole concerns.#Stablecoin #Bankshttps://t.co/aaHxz9bXHM

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) August 25, 2025

CEO Jane Fraser confirmed intentions for Citi stablecoin issuance, while analyst Ronit Ghose likened potential disruption to money market funds withdrawing $32 billion from banks between 1981 and 1982.

Most recently, Nobel Prize-winning economist Jean Tirole has cautioned that inadequate oversight of stablecoins could lead to government bailouts during financial crises.

He warned that losses in reserve portfolios could trigger runs on tokens, necessitating intervention to safeguard retail investors who perceive stablecoins as “perfectly safe deposits.”

Former People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has also previously pointed out systemic amplification risks beyond stated reserves through deposit lending and collateralized financing.

Supporting this, a recent Investopedia analysis suggests annualized risk estimates of 3.3-3.9% for major stablecoins, indicating roughly a one-in-three chance of a crisis over a decade-long timeframe.

Looking ahead, the current stablecoin market is expanding, with a capitalization of $284 billion and 22 consecutive months of growth, while weekly growth rates have moderated from peaks of $4-8 billion to current levels of $1.1 billion.

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