Citi Plans Crypto Custody Launch This Year, Starting With Bitcoin

Citi Investor Services has announced plans to add cryptocurrency custody to its new Custody+ platform before the end of this year, beginning with Bitcoin. The offering is designed to give clients a single integrated environment covering both digital and traditional asset custody. Citi held $34.5 trillion in assets under custody and administration as of the end of June, making it one of the world’s largest custodians by that measure.

If the launch proceeds as planned, Citi will become the largest US bank by total assets to offer crypto custody, though BNY Mellon holds a larger book of assets under custody specifically. Among the ten largest US banks, only BNY Mellon and US Bank are currently live with crypto custody services. The regulatory backdrop shifted materially when the SEC rescinded SAB 121, an accounting rule introduced under former Chair Gary Gensler that had made crypto custody economically unworkable for most banks. BNY Mellon had launched its solution in 2022 despite that rule and obtained a formal waiver in 2024, while peers including State Street paused development. JPMorgan indicated as recently as last year that crypto custody was not a near-term priority.

The SAB 121 rescission now appears to be unlocking a cohort of institutions that had shelved earlier work. Citi’s move is the clearest signal yet that large custodian banks are ready to operationalise what had been contingent plans, and the field of competitors likely to follow is now meaningfully wider than it was twelve months ago.