Citi Nabs Crypto Leaders for Treasury and Trade Solutions Unit

Digital assets are “key” to Citi’s goal of enabling bank and its clients to compete in today’s digital world

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share
  • Unit’s new global head of digital assets is a Wall Street veteran who is joining from IBM
  • Bank’s TTS division head previously revealed it was working on deposit tokenization and network interoperability for fiat currencies and digital money

Wall Street giant Citi has added two crypto-focused leaders to its Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) unit as the bank looks to compete in the space.

The unit, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group (ICG), offers cash management, trade services and finance to corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations.

“Citi TTS aims to deliver market-leading solutions that enable both Citi and our clients to thrive and compete in today’s digital world, and becoming a leader in digital assets is key to this broader goal,” a spokesperson told Blockworks. 

Ryan Rugg joins as the division’s global head of digital assets, while David Cunningham is director of strategic partnerships for digital assets. The executives will be based in New York and Dublin, respectively. 

Rugg, who earlier in her career spent 14 years at Wall Street companies Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan, was most recently IBM’s head of blockchain services for the Americas. Before that, she worked in various leadership roles during her five-year stint at enterprise software firm R3.

Cunningham was previously the chief commercial officer at LexTego, a company focused on transaction monitoring to prevent financial crime. He was also the chairperson of crypto exchange Coinmama, which was acquired by Wellfield Technologies in May.

Citi solidifying crypto executive roster

The news follows Citi’s appointment of Puneet Singhvi in November as head of digital assets for its institutional client wing ICG. 

A spokesperson told Blockworks at the time that Citi intended to fill up to 100 additional roles to support its digital asset capabilities across the group. 

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told Yahoo Finance the month prior that digital assets would be part of the future of financial services, noting the company was working to connect clients to wallets and enable corporations to accept consumer payments.

The bank also announced a $1 billion investment in payments and treasury innovations earlier this year. Citi identifies strategies that help drive revenue, facilitate payments and provide liquidity and working capital support, a spokesperson said.

Shahmir Khaliq, global head of TTS, said during Citi’s investor day in March that the company is engaging with central banks on digital currencies. He added that Citi is working on tokenizing deposits alongside on- and off-ramp capabilities to provide network interoperability for fiat currencies and digital money.

Later in March, the bank’s analysts projected the Web3 economy to reach between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

Pipe’s testnet has delivered 60+ PB of data across ~290,000 Point of Presence (PoP) nodes

article-image

375ai will hold TGE at the end of the month, CEO Harry Dewhirst told Blockworks

article-image

Block’s subsidiary adds direct Bitcoin integration and AI-powered ordering tools for small businesses seeking streamlined transactions

by Blockworks /
article-image

The deal integrates Dinero’s staking suite into Plume’s real-world asset platform as it gains SEC transfer agent status

by Blockworks /
article-image

The state’s decision opens staking access to New Yorkers, signaling a regulatory shift toward broader crypto participation

by Blockworks /
article-image

The startup says it aims to rival Stripe and Worldpay by using stablecoins to speed merchant settlements from days to seconds

by Blockworks /