Citi said Tuesday it will roll out Bitcoin custody later in 2026, giving institutional clients a single home for both traditional and digital assets. The service plugs into Custody+, the bank's suite of near- and real-time tools for continuous trading and faster settlement. It's the most specific timeline Citi has offered since it first flagged the move last year.
Inside the Custody+ plan
According to the press release published August 18, the new offering is built on Citi's common digital asset architecture. That's the same backbone the bank uses across its custody products. Clients get what Citi calls a one-stop experience — crypto and conventional holdings in the same place, with settlement speeds that move closer to real time.
The bank has framed Custody+ as a bridge between the old custody model and the always-on trading world. Bitcoin is the first asset on the new rails.
A plan two years in the making
Citi first said in 2025 that it was preparing to launch crypto custody in 2026, but it never pinned down a date. Tuesday's announcement fills that gap.
The bank's crypto involvement goes back further. In 2021, it added up to 100 people to its cryptocurrency team. That headcount build-out was a signal; the custody launch is the payoff.
Institutional appetite
Citi isn't alone in chasing institutional crypto business. Jane Street Group, the market-making giant, has been increasing its ETF exposure to Bitcoin. That's the kind of client base a bank like Citi is positioning for — large, regulated players that would rather hand custody to a bank than to a crypto startup.
The timing also matters. With spot Bitcoin ETFs now a settled part of the US market, big asset managers need a custody layer that looks and feels like the rest of their operations. Citi is betting its name and its existing infrastructure win that work.
The launch is expected later in 2026. Citi hasn't said which jurisdictions will get the service first, or whether Ether and other assets will follow Bitcoin. For now, the bank is starting with one coin and one clear deadline.
