Citi to custody Bitcoin for institutional clients

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Eugene Komchuk

18.08.2026

Citi to custody Bitcoin for institutional clients — Citi will custody cryptocurrencies

Citi, one of the world’s largest banks with around $2.9 trillion in assets, has unveiled its Custody+ platform for institutional investors. By the end of the year, the bank plans to add digital asset custody, starting with Bitcoin.

According to the press release, Custody+ brings together solutions for settlement, liquidity management, foreign exchange, tax processing, and analytics in near real time. The platform is designed for institutional clients that require continuous market access and faster settlement. Citi’s custody business operates in more than 100 markets, including 62 markets where the bank has its own infrastructure.

The launch coincided with the completion of the U.S. rollout of Citi’s Single Event Processing technology. According to the bank, it has reduced processing times for voluntary corporate actions by up to 92%. Today, 96% of such events in the U.S. are processed in under two hours, while more than 80% of Citi’s total event volume is handled in real time.

Custody+ also includes instant settlements, on-demand foreign exchange, and cash management tools. Through Citi Token Services, the bank enables the near-instant movement of tokenized deposits on a 24/7 basis in select markets. Citi also says the use of AI in tax processes has reduced document processing times by up to 70%.

Chris Cox, Head of Citi Investor Services, noted that the Services division invests more than $2 billion annually in developing its platform. Citi expects Custody+ to reduce settlement delays and give institutional clients faster access to data and liquidity.

Bitcoin will be the next step

One of the key areas of Custody+ will be digital asset custody. Citi expects to launch the service later in 2026, with Bitcoin set to be the first supported asset.

The bank is building the service on a common digital asset architecture and plans to combine traditional and crypto custody within a single system. As a result, institutional clients will be able to manage both securities and digital assets through Citi’s unified infrastructure.

Citi explains the move by pointing to changes in the structure of financial markets. Digital assets trade around the clock and rely on near-instant settlement, meaning custody infrastructure also needs to operate with minimal downtime. Custody+ is intended to support this model and gradually replace more traditional approaches to asset custody and servicing.

Why Citi wants to custody crypto

For Citi, launching crypto custody is a way to adapt its custody business to a market that operates 24/7 and demands near-instant settlement. Institutional clients increasingly work with both traditional and digital assets, so the bank wants to offer them a single framework for custody, settlement, liquidity, and reporting.

Starting with Bitcoin also allows Citi to enter the segment gradually without overhauling its entire infrastructure at once. The bank can rely on its existing custody network and digital asset architecture, while clients gain access to crypto through a familiar major financial institution instead of separate specialist platforms.

As a reminder, Citigroup previously moved shares of a private company onto blockchain.

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