Citigroup plans to start holding bitcoin for institutional clients later this year, bringing the scarce digital asset into the same custody system the bank uses for traditional assets such as stocks and bonds.

The service will be part of Custody+, a new platform from Citi Investor Services. The platform is designed to give large investors access to custody, settlement, foreign exchange, cash and liquidity services through one system.

Bitcoin will be the first digital asset supported by Citi's new custody service. The bank has not yet announced an exact launch date or identified its first customers. Citi's plan could make it easier for institutions to hold bitcoin through a major traditional bank instead of using a separate custodian.

Under Custody+, clients will be able to manage traditional securities and bitcoin through the same framework. “Clients will access traditional and crypto custody capabilities within the same framework for an integrated experience,” Citi said.

Citi's custody business serves clients in more than 100 markets, with the bank operating its own custody network in 62 markets.

For an asset manager, this means bitcoin could sit alongside other investments already held through Citi. The goal is to reduce the need for separate systems and providers for traditional assets and bitcoin. Citi has been working on digital asset custody for several years.

The bank first disclosed its plans in 2025. Biswarup Chatterjee, Citi's global head of partnerships and innovation, said the project had already been in development for roughly two to three years.

Citi said it wanted to create a custody service for institutional investors that would allow the bank to hold native digital assets itself, rather than simply relying on outside exchanges or other digital asset companies.

The bank has considered using both its own technology and third-party systems as part of the project. The latest announcement confirms that bitcoin will be the first digital asset offered.

The bitcoin service is being launched as Citi upgrades the technology behind its broader custody business.

One important part of that system is called Single Event Processing, or SEP. It allows many custody-related transactions to be processed through a single system instead of moving through multiple steps.

Citi said more than 80% of its total event volume is now processed in real time. In the US, the system has reduced processing times for some voluntary corporate actions by as much as 92%. Citi said 96% of those events are now completed within two hours.

Custody+ also offers real-time settlement, foreign exchange services, automated hedging, cash management and liquidity tools. Chris Cox, head of Investor Services at Citi, said the bank spends more than $2 billion each year on its Services platform.

“Custody+ is a clear example of this investment as we build infrastructure to eliminate latency and drag for institutional investor clients,” Cox said.