Citi to launch Bitcoin custody for institutional clients later this year

Citigroup plans to launch an institutional Bitcoin custody service later in 2026 under its new Custody+ platform. The service integrates digital and traditional assets into a single framework, utilizing a no-wallet, no-private-key system to eliminate the operational risks of key management. This expansion follows a shifting U.S. regulatory landscape, notably the SEC's 2025 withdrawal of SAB 121, allowing major Wall Street banks to compete directly with established crypto-native custodians.

Citi Custody+ platform launch

• ▪Citigroup's Custody+ platform processes more than 80% of its asset-servicing event volume in real time, reducing processing times by up to 92% with 96% completed within two hours.
• ▪Citigroup plans to launch a digital asset custody service starting with Bitcoin later in 2026, allowing institutional clients to hold traditional and crypto assets within the same framework.
• ▪Citigroup's Bitcoin custody service will be integrated into its new Custody+ platform, a suite of custody, settlement, and real-time asset servicing tools designed by Citi Investor Services.

Bitcoin custody service design

• ▪Citigroup's Custody+ platform will provide institutional clients with 24/7 access, secure key management, and continuous visibility across servicing, settlement, foreign exchange, cash, and data.
• ▪Citigroup's digital asset custody technology is built on its common digital asset architecture and builds on groundwork laid in 2022 through a partnership with infrastructure provider Metaco.
• ▪Citigroup is developing its custody service under the Integrated Digital Assets Platform, which utilizes a no-wallet, no-private-key system where the bank manages all blockchain custody mechanics.

Institutional crypto adoption barriers

• ▪Traditional institutional investors have faced barriers to crypto adoption due to the specialized knowledge and asymmetric risk of managing private keys, where losing a key results in permanent asset loss.
• ▪Citigroup's integrated custody model aims to eliminate institutional friction points by embedding Bitcoin custody as a line item within existing workflows rather than requiring a separate vendor relationship.

Citi digital asset expansion

• ▪Citigroup's Bitcoin custody service runs parallel to Citi Token Services, which enables real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments and transfers using tokenized deposits in select markets.
• ▪Citigroup is collaborating with Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America to explore issuing a stablecoin product, and is part of a planned tokenized deposit network targeting a first-half 2027 launch.
• ▪The New York Stock Exchange worked with Citigroup and BNY in January 2026 on a planned blockchain-based platform supporting tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds.
• ▪Citigroup collaborated with Intercontinental Exchange in January 2026 to enable tokenized deposits across clearinghouses, and joined a Swift pilot for 24/7 cross-border payments in July 2026.

Banking crypto regulatory shift

• ▪U.S. banks have gained regulatory flexibility to offer crypto custody after the Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 in 2025.
• ▪Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser expressed support for the crypto Clarity Act, which aims to define tokens as securities or commodities, noting that the bank wanted a improved version of the bill to pass.
• ▪Major financial institutions including BNY Mellon, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Coinbase already offer institutional crypto custody, while Morgan Stanley applied for a national trust bank charter in February 2026.

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