Citi to Launch Bitcoin Custody for Institutional Clients With Custody+

Citigroup is preparing to launch Bitcoin custody services later this year, allowing institutional investors to hold cryptocurrency through the same infrastructure Citi uses to safeguard traditional financial assets.

The banking giant announced Custody+, a new suite of institutional services designed to accelerate custody, settlement, foreign exchange and cash management. While Citi has not confirmed an exact launch date, the service will initially support Bitcoin (BTC) and integrate traditional and digital asset custody within a single framework.

Citi operates one of the world's largest custody networks, serving institutional clients across more than 100 markets. It maintains its own custody operations in 62 markets. Adding Bitcoin custody could make cryptocurrency exposure more accessible to institutions by allowing them to store BTC alongside stocks, bonds and other assets without relying on a separate crypto custodian.

Amit Agarwal, head of custody at Citi Investor Services, said Custody+ reflects the bank's multi-year effort to develop infrastructure capable of keeping pace with increasingly fast-moving institutional strategies.

The Bitcoin custody initiative is also part of Citi's broader push toward real-time financial infrastructure. The bank has introduced technology in the U.S. that consolidates multiple custody-related processes into one system. Citi says more than 80% of applicable events are now processed in real time, while processing times have fallen by as much as 92%. Around 96% are completed within two hours.

Citi's entry into institutional crypto custody follows similar moves by other major financial institutions. BNY began providing cryptocurrency custody to certain U.S. clients in 2022, while Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase already offer digital asset custody services for institutional investors.

The regulatory environment for U.S. banks has also become more favorable. In 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), removing an accounting requirement widely viewed as making crypto custody more expensive for banks.

Citi's planned Bitcoin custody launch adds another major Wall Street institution to the expanding market for regulated digital asset services.