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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.
The firm since last year has also been working with other top banks — including Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America — to explore issuing a stablecoin product.
Speaking about the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act last week, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said that the bank was a “leader in digital assets.” She added that while the legislation needed some improvements, the bank wanted a “good bill to go through.”
The Clarity Act, which aims to define which tokens qualify as securities versus commodities, is the latest pro-crypto legislation. Lawmakers will vote on the bill in September.
