Citi Plans to Launch Institutional Bitcoin Custody Service
Nashnova编辑部
Citigroup plans to offer Bitcoin custody to institutional clients later this year, folding crypto into a traditional custody network spanning over 100 markets — a move that treats Bitcoin as an asset that sits alongside stocks and bonds, not in a separate vault.
What exactly is Citi building?
Citi announced Custody+, a service suite covering custody, settlement, FX, and cash management. It will start with Bitcoin.
This means → institutional investors can hold Bitcoin and traditional assets — equities, bonds — at the same bank, with no need for a separate crypto custodian.
In plain terms = instead of hiring a specialist "crypto vault," institutions can tell Citi: store it all in one place.
How ready is Citi's infrastructure?
Citi's custody operation already spans over 100 markets; 62 are served by its proprietary custody network.
In the U.S., new technology consolidates multiple custody tasks into a single system. Over 80% of related tasks now settle in real time, with processing time cut by up to 92%.
This means → Citi is not building crypto custody from scratch. It is plugging Bitcoin into a global custody pipeline that already works.
Where do competitors stand?
BNY (Bank of New York Mellon) began offering crypto custody to select U.S. clients in 2022.
Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase also serve institutional clients with similar offerings.
This reflects the fact that Citi is not a first mover — it is entering after the regulatory window opened and rivals already established footholds.
What changed on the regulatory side?
The SEC in 2025 rescinded SAB 121 — an accounting rule that required banks to record clients' custodied crypto on their own balance sheets, sharply raising capital costs.
In plain terms = banks used to carry a heavy balance-sheet "penalty" for holding clients' Bitcoin. That penalty is now gone, and the cost of offering custody dropped overnight.
This means → lower compliance costs are the direct catalyst for Citi and other major banks to move in now.
What does this mean for the market landscape?
Traditional banks bring existing client relationships and global networks. Standalone crypto custodians will face a direct test of their differentiation.
This means → for institutional investors, more choices and potentially lower costs; for standalone custodians like Coinbase, competitive pressure intensifies.
This reflects a broader shift: crypto custody is moving from a specialist niche to a standard offering in traditional finance.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.