According to Bloomberg, Maini worked at Citigroup for more than 14 years, most recently leading the digital assets team in the markets division. He left to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in the digital assets space.

Lee Smallwood, Citigroup's head of markets innovation and investment, sent a memo last week announcing the news. A Citigroup spokesman declined to comment and Maini did not respond to Linkedin messages.

Citigroup has for years been exploring the use of blockchain technology to update its existing infrastructure to provide greater transparency and the ability to settle transactions instantly.