Citi to give institutional clients Bitcoin custody alongside stocks and bonds

This report is based on a public announcement from Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup will add bitcoin custody to its Custody+ platform later this year, the bank announced on August 18, 2026, bringing crypto and traditional securities under one institutional operating framework for the first time.

Bitcoin custody joins Citi’s institutional platform

Custody+ will begin offering digital asset custody starting with bitcoin, Citigroup said, built on the bank’s existing digital asset architecture. The bank described the addition as a “one-stop custody experience” that lets institutional clients access both traditional and crypto custody within the same framework, rather than through a separate crypto-native provider.

Institutional custody transfers responsibility for safeguarding private keys and approving asset movements to the bank as a third-party provider. Self-custody, by contrast, leaves those responsibilities with the asset owner.

Real-time processing extends across custody operations

Citigroup’s Single Event Processing system already handles custody transactions continuously across domestic and global markets. More than 80 percent of the bank’s total event volume is processed in real time, and 96 percent of United States voluntary events, such as tender offers or optional dividend elections, are completed within two hours, according to the bank.

The Custody+ platform combines settlement, foreign exchange, liquidity, tax services, and market data in a single system. Citigroup has said its broader digital asset strategy is designed to let money and securities move outside standard market hours, including on a 24/7 basis.

The bank applied a similar model to private-company shares in June 2026, when it introduced tokenized depositary receipts letting eligible investors hold blockchain-based securities representing private-company stock. Citigroup provides custody for the underlying securities, while the Swiss financial infrastructure group SIX operates the platform. The offering launched with shares in Kaleido and was initially limited to accredited investors outside the United States.

Regulatory shifts support the expansion

The move comes as U.S. regulators signal clearer rules for digital asset custody. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins has said the agency’s 2026 regulatory agenda includes rules for onchain trading and custody alongside existing investor-protection requirements.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has also clarified that national banks may hold certain crypto assets for network fees or platform testing under its crypto asset guidance.

Citigroup projects that tokenized securities and real-world assets could grow from roughly $17 billion currently to $5.5 trillion by 2030 under its base case. Separately, the bank’s Citi Token Services already enables near-instant movement of tokenized deposits on a 24/7 basis across select markets, the announcement said.