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Citi is preparing to roll out infrastructure aimed at integrating Bitcoin into traditional finance, according to Nisha Surendran, who leads the bank’s digital asset custody development. Speaking at Strategy World, an event hosted this week by Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy, Surendran said the initiative is part of Citi’s effort to “make Bitcoin bankable” through custody, key management, and integration into existing financial systems. “Later this year, Citi will be launching our infrastructure that integrates Bitcoin into traditional finance,” Surendran said. “We’re going to start with core custody and safekeeping capabilities, institutional-grade key management, and wallet infrastructure.” Citi has expanded its infrastructure from more than 220 global payment networks into blockchain connectivity, moving from private to public chains as client demand increases. The New York-based banking giant has been quietly developing the infrastructure for over three years, Biswarup Chatterjee, global head of partnerships and innovation in Citi’s services business, told CNBC last October. Under the proposed model, Citi would hold clients’ native crypto assets, leveraging its regulatory framework and long history in traditional custody. The bank is assessing both proprietary technology and partnerships to deliver the service. The custody offering will incorporate the same risk controls and reporting frameworks that govern conventional securities held by the bank’s clients. Bitcoin positions will feed into existing tax workflows and reporting channels, allowing institutions to treat digital holdings alongside equities and bonds within a unified account structure, Surendran noted. She emphasized that the service could lower operational friction for institutions, strengthen financial safeguards through custody segregation, and enable the broader use of crypto assets alongside traditional holdings. “The next wave of adoption is not going to come from people like you,” she said. “It’s going to come from more traditional institutions who probably want to get into the asset class but are held back…

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Filed under: News - @ February 26, 2026 12:27 pm