Citi To Debut Bitcoin Custody For Institutional Investors

Citi will debut a bitcoin custody service later this year. The top bank said Tuesday that its Custody+ product will allow institutional investors to custody both traditional assets and bitcoin within one framework, rather than needing separate systems. 

The bank first announced plans to debut a digital asset custody service last year. It said at the time that it had been developing the service for several years. 

Citi is the latest American bank to move deeper into the digital asset space following friendlier legislation and pro-crypto approach from U.S. regulators. 

“Custody+ is a clear example of this investment as we build infrastructure to eliminate latency and drag for institutional investor clients,” Head of Investor Services at Citi, Chris Cox, said in a statement.

The service, according to Citi, will let clients process every asset servicing transaction through a “single seamless flow.”

Clients will get continuous, near-instant visibility and execution across servicing, settlement, FX, cash, and data — plus the flexibility to plug in digital assets or build their own offerings on top of Citi’s rails — instead of being locked into a single standardized custody workflow.

Citi’s new custody service runs parallel to its broader blockchain offerings, including Citi Token Services, which enables real-time cross-border payments using tokenized deposits.