Wall Street Giants State Street And Citi Enter Crypto Custody Race

Two of the world’s largest custodian banks, State Street and Citi, announce their entry into the crypto custody market. 

With $46.6 trillion and $25 trillion in assets under custody respectively, State Street and Citi are all set to reshape the crypto custody market.

This was possible after the recent repeal of SAB 121, a 2022 US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule that effectively barred banks from providing crypto custody services.

Introduced in 2022, SAB 121 imposed stringent requirements on banks providing crypto custody services, effectively locking them out of the market.

Banks are building the infrastructure to incorporate #Crypto into their backend payment systems 💥🚨🚨🚨🏦
-Citi
-State street
Representatives confirms banks ARE interested in using these technologies #XDC #XRP #XLM pic.twitter.com/r7uNEDSflL

— Cypress Demanincor (@CDemanincor) October 4, 2023

SEC Revoked SAB 121 Last Month

The SEC officially revoked its controversial crypto accounting guidance on 23 January 2025, which forced financial institutions to account for crypto assets as liabilities on their balance sheets.

In an open statement, the regulator referred to the passing of Staff Accounting Bulletin 122, which essentially overrides the earlier guidance under SAB 121. It’s just about thrown a wedge into the already split argument for the previous directive.

“This staff accounting bulletin (SAB) rescinds the interpretive guidance in Section FF of Topic 5 in the Staff Accounting Bulletin Series entitled Accounting for Obligations to Safeguard Crypto-Assets an Entity Holds for its Platform Users (‘Topic 5.FF’),” said SEC.

The SEC added, however, that entities do not have to stop disclosing the obligations and risks of safeguarding crypto assets.

Explore: US Crypto Space Relieved as SEC Rolls Back Sab 121

State Street Entered Crypto Space In 2024

Last year, State Street announced its entry in the cryptocurrency space. The company revealed a strategic partnership with a prominent player in the crypto industry, Switzerland’s Taurus.

By aligning with a key player in the crypto industry, State Street is positioning itself as a leader in the digital asset custody market.

Commenting on the partnership, Donna Milrod, State Street’s Chief Product Officer and Head of State Street Digital said, “The collaboration with Taurus underscores our ongoing commitment to further establishing ourselves as leaders in this growing asset class, and this important announcement only enhances our ambition to deliver to our clients an amazing digital asset experience.”

Explore: State Street Confirms Partnership With Swiss Crypto Company Taurus

Citi’s journey into the crypto space has been relatively quiet compared to some of its peers. However, the bank has been actively experimenting with blockchain-based initiatives over the years. Notably, Citi partnered with Singaporean startup BondbloX for tokenized bond custody and explored digital asset custody through a collaboration with Metaco—a firm later acquired by Ripple.

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Akriti Seth

Senior Editor

Akriti Seth is a Zurich-based Business Journalist and Crypto Editor. Her passion for journalism has taken her across the globe – from thriving as an on-television correspondent to writing engaging articles, she has worked for companies like Informa UK, Bloomberg... Read More

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