Citi Plans to Launch Crypto Custody Services in 2026: CNBC

Citi will reportedly debut a crypto custody service in 2026 as mainstream financial institutions dive deeper into the digital asset space.

CNBC reported Monday that the bank has been developing a custody service for digital assets over the past two to three years, citing an interview with global head of partnerships and innovation Biswarup Chatterjee.

Citi did not immediately respond to Decrypt‘s request for comment, but Chatterjee was quoted saying that the upcoming custody service would involve Citi holding the digital coins and tokens for clients.

“We’re hoping that in the next few quarters, we can come to market with a credible custody solution that we can offer to our asset managers and other clients,” Chatterjee told CNBC.

The move would signal traditional banks pushing further into the world of digital assets.

Since the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds managed by Wall Street titans like BlackRock and Fidelity, a number of top American banks have expressed interest in moving deeper into the digital asset space.

JP Morgan is advancing stablecoin development, while Morgan Stanley is working to enable customers to trade digital coins Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana via its E*Trade platform.

Just last week, major banks Banco Santander, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG Bank Ltd, TD Bank Group, and UBS announced that they were collectively exploring a “1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money”—or stablecoin.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a ticket to help the crypto industry, and this year has pushed a number of crypto-friendly laws as regulatory industries have pulled back on crypto-related enforcement. 

Regulators under previous U.S. administrations have been more cautious and sometimes hostile towards the crypto space.