Miami Beach, FL – Tokenized money won’t be able to deliver on its promise if it remains locked inside individual banks, according to Ryan Rugg, head of digital assets for treasury and trading solutions at Citigroup.
Speaking at Consensus in Miami, Rugg said large corporate customers are not looking for single-bank solutions, but for systems that work seamlessly across financial institutions. “Nobody just wants a Citi token,” he said. “They want that multi-bank aspect of it.”
The comment reflects a core challenge in the drive to bring blockchain-based payments into the mainstream financial sector. While banks have begun issuing tokenized deposits and building internal platforms, many of these systems operate within closed networks.
For global companies, this approach falls short. Rugg said Citi’s clients often manage “hundreds, if not thousands, of bank accounts at multiple banks worldwide,” creating complexities in moving money for payroll, suppliers and investments.
These customers are increasingly asking for real-time options. In a survey Citi conducted several years ago, Rugg said the responses were “basically unanimous” and that faster, always-available payments were a top priority.
Blockchain technology offers one path to that goal, but only if systems can connect. Citi has built its own tokenized platform and linked it to its broader banking network, including a 24/7 US dollar clearing system with more than 300 banks. Still, Rugg emphasizes that internal upgrades alone are not enough.
“This is another tool in the toolkit,” he said, adding that banks also need to modernize traditional infrastructure and connect it to digital systems.
The wider sector is facing fragmentation. A growing number of banks, fintech companies and crypto projects are building separate networks, often using different standards. This threatens to once again create the same inefficiencies that blockchain aims to solve.
Rugg argued that shared infrastructure – built “for the industry, by the industry” – will be key to scaling tokenized finance, citing models such as Swift’s global messaging network.
At the same time, regulations remain an obstacle. Large banks need clear legal frameworks before they can roll out new products. “Unless it’s 100% permissible, we won’t do that,” Rugg said.