Shakeup

The global post-trade industry is entering a new phase of transformation driven by digital assets and AI, according to Citi’s latest “Securities Services Evolution” whitepaper.

The bank’s fifth annual survey, which gathered input from 537 market participants including custodians, broker-dealers and asset managers, highlights how tokenization, accelerated settlements and AI-driven automation are reshaping trade processing.

Citi estimates that by 2030, 10% of market turnover could be conducted through tokenized assets. The report points to bank-issued stablecoins as the main enabler, helping with collateral efficiency and fund tokenization. Asia-Pacific is already leading adoption, thanks to strong retail interest in crypto and regulatory support for digital assets.

The use of AI will further drive post-trade efficiency, the report states. Some 86% of surveyed firms say they are testing the technology for client onboarding as the key use case for asset managers, custodians and broker-dealers. A further 57% indicated that their organizations are piloting the technology for post-trade specifically.

Speed and automation are a priority, Citi said, as the post-trade industry faces the cumulative workload of moving to T+1, a standard settlement cycle for securities transactions where the trade is settled one business day after the trade date.

“From accelerated settlements to automation in asset servicing, and increased shareholder participation and governance, the collective vision of firms worldwide is converging on the same core themes. The industry is at the cusp of significant change as market participants intensify their focus on T+1, accelerate the adoption of digital assets, and implement GenAI across their operations,” said Chris Cox, Head of Investor Services, Citi.

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Earlier this month, the actual play phenomenon Critical Role announced a pretty big shakeup for its upcoming fourth campaign. Matt Mercer, who had led each of the group’s previous stories as the game master, will instead take on a player role, and Dimension 20’s Brennan Lee Mulligan will step up to lead the next campaign in October. Now, we know what campaign four will entail, and it sounds much more complex than anything Critical Role has done before.

In a 17-minute presentation, Mulligan outlined his plans for the campaign, and it sounds pretty ambitious. Rather than being set in Exandria, the world where Critical Role’s first three stories took place, this season will see the players enter a new world. Mulligan is dividing the 13 cast members into three distinct groups: Soldiers, Schemers, and Seekers, with each tackling the new fantasy setting and story from a different angle. As such, not every cast member will be present for each episode as it jumps between different perspectives. The announcement didn’t confirm which cast members would be in each group, but it did solidify that Critical Role‘s founding members will all be returning. The full cast is as follows:

Laura Bailey
Luis Carazo
Robbie Daymond
Aabria Iyengar
Taliesin Jaffe
Ashley Johnson
Matthew Mercer
Whitney Moore
Liam O’Brien
Marisha Ray
Sam Riegel
Alex Ward
Travis Willingham

Now that it’s confirmed the founding members will return for campaign four, some of Critical Role’s fans are more optimistic about all the changes on the way, though others are still skeptical about the structure, given that the entire crew won’t be playing together. At least, not at first. It’s entirely possible the story goes in a direction that sees all these disparate groups end up together down the line, which sounds like it would make for a sick finale, but will likely not happen until years from now. The first episode is set to premiere on October 2.

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Stablecoins and AI Could Drive Post-Trade Shakeup, Citi Says

Critical Role Explains Shakeup, But Some Fans Aren’t Convinced