On Wednesday (June 22), financial services multinational Citigroup (“Citi”) announced a strategic partnership with crypto custody startup METACO.

According to the press release issued by METACO, which was founded in Switzerland in 2014, “this collaboration brings together METACO’s technology and digital solutions with Citi’s expansive custody network to develop a platform to enable clients to store and settle digital assets seamlessly and securely.” Citi plans to “fully integrate METACO’s bank-grade digital asset custody and orchestration platform, Harmonize, into its existing infrastructure, to develop and pilot digital asset custody capabilities.”

Here are a few words from METACO about its main product:

METACO Harmonize is an orchestration system for digital assets. From cryptocurrency custody and trading to tokenization, staking and smart contract management, the platform seamlessly connects institutions to the new world of decentralized finance.

The platform enables financial and non-financial institutions of all sizes—from small to large banks, asset managers and corporates—to immediately issue, store, trade and manage tokens while ensuring full regulatory compliance.

Okan Pekin, Global Head of Securities Services at Citi, had this to say:

We are witnessing the increasing digitization of traditional investment assets along with new native digital assets. We are innovating and developing new capabilities to support digital asset classes that are becoming increasingly relevant to our clients.

And Adrien Treccani, CEO and Founder of METACO, added:

We are pleased to team up with Citi, one of the largest securities services firms, to support them in their vision to bridge digital and traditional assets. This initiative is a market-defining moment for institutional adoption of digital assets.