Citigroup Unveils Plan for Institutional Bitcoin Custody Under New Platform

Citigroup is set to launch Bitcoin custody services for institutional clients later this year under its new Custody+ platform. The platform will integrate digital asset safekeeping with existing custody, settlement, foreign exchange, and cash management services.

Clients will be able to manage Bitcoin alongside traditional securities through a single framework, rather than relying on separate crypto-native custodians.

The bank has not disclosed specific launch dates or fees for the service. Bitcoin was trading near $64,300 at the time of the announcement, up roughly 1.2% during the session.

Custody+ represents a broader overhaul of post-trade operations at Citi, which currently serves clients across more than 100 markets. The platform uses Single Event Processing technology to reduce processing times for voluntary corporate actions by up to 92%, with 96% of U.S. events completed within two hours.

The move comes after the SEC rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 in January 2025, removing an accounting policy that had required banks to record customer crypto holdings as liabilities on their balance sheets.