Citi Sets Stage for Institutional Adoption with Bitcoin Custody Plans

Citi has confirmed plans to offer Bitcoin custody services through its new Custody+ platform by the end of 2026. The bank's digital asset architecture will hold and instruct Bitcoin positions without clients needing to manage wallets or private keys, streamlining reporting and compliance processes.

With assets under custody and administration totaling $24 trillion and a network spanning over 100 markets, Citi is one of the largest custodian banks in the world. Clients will be able to access traditional and crypto custody within a single framework, eliminating the need for separate operational stacks for digital assets.

The announcement came alongside the launch of Custody+, which includes digital asset custody as one of its key features, with Bitcoin being the first asset on the list. Nisha Surendran, who leads Citi's digital asset custody build, outlined the model earlier this year: core custody and safekeeping followed by institutional-grade key management and wallet infrastructure.

The impact on crypto prices is expected to be minimal in the short term but significant in the medium term as pensions, insurers, sovereign funds, and corporate treasuries gain a compliant on-ramp to hold Bitcoin. The collateral angle is seen as a major structural shift, allowing Bitcoin to be pledged against bonds and tokenized money market funds.

Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi Investor Services, framed Custody+ as the output of a multi-year infrastructure build, with Chris Cox, Head of Investor Services, noting that Citi invests over $2 billion annually in its platform strategy.