Citi to Launch Bitcoin Custody Service for Institutional Clients This Year

Highlights:

• Citi plans to launch Bitcoin custody later this year through its Custody+ platform.
• Institutional clients will access traditional and digital asset custody within one framework.
• More than 80% of the bank’s event volume now processes in real time.

American multinational investment bank Citi plans to launch digital asset custody later this year, starting with Bitcoin for institutional clients. The service will sit inside Custody+, its new platform for faster custody and settlement operations. Clients will access crypto and traditional assets through one framework. Meanwhile, the bank aims to support investors adjusting to round-the-clock markets and shorter settlement cycles.

Citi Places Bitcoin Inside its Custody Network

According to the announcement on August 18, the planned Bitcoin service will connect with the bank’s existing custody infrastructure. Citi supports custody clients across more than 100 markets, including 62 proprietary markets. Therefore, institutions could hold Bitcoin alongside stocks, bonds, and other assets through the same provider. However, the bank has not announced a specific launch date.

The group had already outlined plans for native crypto custody last year. Now, the new announcement places that service directly inside the Custody+ operating model. Moreover, the system uses its common digital asset architecture for both traditional and digital assets. The bank says this structure should create a single custody experience for large investors.

Wall Street Banking Giant Citi to Launch Digital Asset Custody Later This Year, Starting With Bitcoin

Wall Street banking giant Citi announced the launch of Custody+, a new suite of near- and real-time custody solutions, and said it expects to go live with digital asset custody… pic.twitter.com/geIeS5njQn

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 18, 2026

Amit Agarwal, head of custody at Investor Services, linked the platform to a multi-year infrastructure program. He said the bank built the system to match the speed of client strategies. Meanwhile, the broader service combines custody tools with settlement, foreign exchange, liquidity, and market information. The approach targets institutions managing increasingly complex operating models.

Faster Settlement Tools Reshape Institutional Operations

Custody+ also includes real-time asset servicing through its Single Event Processing technology. In the United States, that system now handles more than 80% of total event volume in real time. Moreover, the bank says voluntary corporate-action processing times fell by as much as 92%. It also reports that 96% of those events now finish within two hours.

The platform adds instant settlement functions across the bank’s proprietary custody markets. Clients also receive transaction visibility through integrated ledgers and real-time data. Additionally, On-Demand FX offers direct pricing, automated hedging, and real-time execution. These features connect foreign exchange management with settlement activity.

Cash management forms another part of the service. Investors can receive position updates, liquidity sweeps, funding support, and projected cash balances. Notably, Citi Token Services already supports near-instant transfers of tokenized deposits in selected markets. Those transfers can operate around the clock.

Digital Assets Fit a Broader Bank Strategy

The bank has spent heavily on infrastructure supporting faster financial markets. Chris Cox, head of Investor Services, said the unit invests more than $2 billion annually in platform development. He linked that spending to speed, scale, availability, data, and technology. Custody+ now packages several of those investments within one institutional offering.

The move also follows other digital asset projects across the group. In July, Citi joined a Swift pilot focused on round-the-clock cross-border payments using tokenized deposits. The bank has also published research on the potential growth of tokenized securities. In June, it projected that the market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. 

Meanwhile, the bank has kept a cautious market view on Bitcoin prices. Earlier in July, the bank reduced its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $82,000 after weaker ETF demand. It also cited slower U.S. crypto legislation as a factor behind the revision.