Citi to Store Bitcoin for Big Investors in Major Wall Street Move

Banking giant Citi plans to launch Bitcoin custody later this year, letting big clients hold crypto and traditional assets in one place.

Citi, one of the world's biggest banks, is stepping deeper into the world of cryptocurrency. The bank announced it will soon offer a service to safely store Bitcoin for its large clients — expected to launch later this year.

This service is called custody — which simply means safely holding and protecting assets on behalf of clients, similar to how a bank keeps your money safe. In this case, Citi will store Bitcoin (the world's most popular cryptocurrency) alongside traditional investments.

The new offering is part of a package called Custody+, a set of tools designed to hold and settle both regular assets (like stocks and bonds) and crypto — all in one system. This means Citi's business clients won't need separate services to manage their traditional and digital investments.

Here are the key facts:

The service will start with Bitcoin and is expected to launch later this year.
It's designed for institutional clients — large organizations like investment firms, not everyday individuals.
Citi says more than 80% of its asset-servicing activity is now processed in real time (instantly, without delays).
Its Citi Token Services platform already lets clients move digital money nearly instantly, 24 hours a day, in select markets.

This is part of a bigger trend on Wall Street. Major financial institutions are racing to add crypto services:

In January, the New York Stock Exchange partnered with Citi and BNY on a blockchain-based platform for digital versions of stocks and ETFs (funds that hold a basket of investments).
In February, Morgan Stanley applied for special approval to offer its own crypto storage services.

Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi, said the service is the result of "a multi-year commitment" to building modern financial infrastructure that keeps pace with how clients invest today.

In short: Citi's move signals that big, traditional banks now see cryptocurrency as a serious part of the future of finance — bringing crypto and everyday investing closer together than ever before.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://decrypt.co/375880/citi-bitcoin-custody-wall-street-crypto