Citi to Launch Bitcoin Custody for Institutional Clients

Citigroup is moving into native bitcoin custody. The third-largest U.S. bank by assets will launch Custody+ later this year, a platform that lets institutional clients hold BTC alongside traditional securities in the same custody and settlement framework. No more routing exposure through ETFs.

Citi Investor Services houses the new platform. It runs on what the bank calls its “common digital asset architecture,” according to The Block. Custody+ bundles real-time asset servicing, instant settlements, liquidity tools, and AI-powered market intelligence under one roof. More than 80% of Citi’s asset-servicing event volume already runs in real time, per Decrypt.

Amit Agarwal, head of custody at Citi Investor Services, described a build years in the making. “Custody+ is the product of a multi-year commitment to building infrastructure that matches the speed of our clients’ strategies,” Agarwal said in a statement cited by Decrypt. “We have designed each solution to help clients simplify their operating models amid increasing complexities in the operating environment.”

“Custody+ is our response to their evolving needs as the industry continues to transform, moving away from legacy to next-generation architecture,” Agarwal added.

Competitors are not sitting still. Morgan Stanley applied for a national trust bank charter in February 2026, seeking to offer crypto custody through a new entity, Decrypt reported. Most Wall Street banks have spent the past year testing tokenized deposits and settlement rails through consortium arrangements rather than standalone launches.

Traders disagree on the net effect. Does bank-native custody pull new institutional flows toward bitcoin? Or does it simply capture demand already routed through ETFs and specialist custodians? No consensus.

Citi’s custody push sits inside a broader tokenization effort. In January 2026, NYSE said it was working with Citi and BNY on a blockchain-based platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs, Decrypt reported. The Block characterized the same arrangement as Citi working with Intercontinental Exchange to enable tokenized deposits across its clearinghouses. In July, Citi joined a Swift pilot for 24/7 cross-border payments using tokenized deposits, The Block reported. The bank is also part of a group of major U.S. banks behind a planned tokenized deposit network through The Clearing House, targeting a launch in the first half of 2027.

Citi Token Services, the bank’s existing tokenized-deposit rail, enables near-instantaneous movement of funds 24/7 across select Citi markets. Both sources confirmed.

The announcement builds on prior disclosures that Citi planned to offer native crypto custody in 2026. Decrypt placed that earlier disclosure in October. The Block said November 2025. The months differ. The substance does not.

As for the launch window: imprecise. Citi said “later this year” without specifying a date. Neither source named a fee structure, regulatory approval status, or whether assets beyond bitcoin will be supported at launch.

What remains unknown is substantial. Whether Citi has secured the regulatory approvals required to hold bitcoin directly for clients. Whether Custody+ will extend to other digital assets beyond bitcoin. What the service will cost. Neither source said when Citi was asked for comment.