NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Citigroup's ( C/PN ) head of

digital assets for its markets unit, Shobhit Maini, is leaving

the bank after more than 14 years, according to an internal memo

seen by Reuters.

Maini, who joined Citigroup ( C/PN ) in 2010, according to his

LinkedIn page, was global head of digital assets for Citi

markets since 2021.

He is leaving Citi to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity

in the digital asset space, said Lee Smallwood, head of markets

innovation and investments at the bank, in the memo.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) declined to comment. Maini did not immediately

respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Deepak Mehra will now lead digital assets for the markets

unit in an expanded role, the memo said. Mehra is currently

international lead for Citi markets' strategic investments.

Bloomberg News earlier reported Maini's departure.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) is involved in several digital money and

tokenization projects. Last year it became the first digital

custodian participant of the BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX).

BBX, which was launched in 2020 to simplify bond investing,

is the world's first fractional bond exchange.