Citi to Launch Bitcoin Custody This Year
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- Citi announced it will launch digital asset custody later this year under its new Custody+ platform, starting with Bitcoin, after first revealing institutional Bitcoin custody plans in October with a 2026 target.
- Custody+ lets clients access traditional securities and crypto custody through a single unified framework, described by Citi's custody head as a "multi-year commitment" to next-generation architecture.
- Citi Token Services already enables 24/7 tokenized deposit transfers across select markets, and more than 80% of Citi's asset-servicing event volume is now processed in real time.
- NYSE said in January it is working with Citi and BNY on a blockchain-based platform supporting tokenized stocks and ETFs, deepening Citi's role in tokenized market infrastructure.
- Morgan Stanley filed in February for a national trust bank charter for an entity that would offer crypto custody, signaling peer banks are building parallel custody capabilities.
- Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi Investor Services, framed Custody+ as Citi's response to clients' "evolving needs" amid increasing operational complexity.
Why it matters: Citi is collapsing the line between traditional and digital asset custody for institutional clients under one framework — a structural shift that arrives as NYSE, BNY, and Morgan Stanley build parallel tokenization and crypto custody rails, meaning Wall Street's custody map is being redrawn simultaneously across multiple incumbents in 2025.
Ask SkimNews
