Previously, institutions considering investing in Bitcoin had to address not only price volatility, but also issues such as custody, security, and compliant access channels.

Citi is now moving forward on several of these fronts at once. On one hand, Citi Wealth is introducing spot BTC and ETH ETFs to suitable clients through reports; on the other, its Custody+ platform plans to offer Bitcoin custody services to institutional clients.

This means traditional banks are no longer just discussing crypto assets—they are trying to bring related services into their own business operations.

Several global systemically important banks already offer Bitcoin custody services to institutions. With Citi joining them, ties between traditional finance and crypto markets may deepen further.