TL;DR
- Citigroup plans Bitcoin custody for $30 trillion in assets under management.
- The bank aims to integrate Bitcoin into its core banking operations, not peripherally.
- Institutional clients can hold Bitcoin alongside stocks and bonds within Citi’s systems.
Citigroup announced plans to add Bitcoin custody to its core banking operations, targeting a rollout later in 2026. The bank, which currently oversees approximately $30 trillion in assets, intends to build infrastructure that treats Bitcoin as a standard financial asset — not a speculative side product managed outside the bank’s main systems.
Nisha Surendran, Citi’s head of digital asset custody development, delivered the announcement at an industry event hosted by Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy. Surendran framed the bank’s goal in direct terms: make Bitcoin “bankable.” In practice, that means institutional clients — pension funds, insurers, asset managers — could hold Bitcoin inside the same framework they already use for stocks, bonds, and other regulated instruments.
The service Citi plans to offer goes beyond basic storage. The bank intends to provide key management, wallet systems, tax reporting, regulatory compliance tools, and risk management processes, all extended to cover Bitcoin positions. Clients would not need to manage private keys, one-time addresses, or self-custody wallets. Citi would handle all of it within its existing compliance and operational structure.
The new offering centers on Citi’s Integrated Digital Assets Platform
The bank designed the architecture to support 24/7 operations, Swift messaging for international transfers, and API connections for integration with existing institutional workflows. For large investors who previously avoided crypto because of operational complexity, the setup removes most of the friction.
Surendran confirmed that the initial phase covers core custody capabilities, with more advanced features — including asset segregation and collateral management tools — arriving in later stages. The bank also left open the possibility of partnerships with specialized firms to fill technical gaps as the platform develops.
Citi’s entry into Bitcoin custody places it in a growing group of major US financial institutions building direct exposure to digital assets. BNY and JPMorgan both moved into custody and trading in earlier stages, but Citi’s stated aim goes deeper. Rather than offering a standalone crypto product, the bank wants Bitcoin to function within the same systems it uses across the rest of its asset management business.
For institutional investors, the difference matters. A pension fund allocating capital to Bitcoin through a Citi custody account can apply the same reporting, compliance, and risk management procedures it uses for every other asset class. No separate platform, no parallel workflow, no operational exception.
The broader context also works in Citi’s favor. Institutional interest in Bitcoin increased sharply after the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US, and several large corporations added Bitcoin to their balance sheets over the past year. A bank-grade custody option from one of the world’s largest financial institutions adds another layer of legitimacy to Bitcoin as a long-term institutional holding.
