US Bancorp, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States, has relaunched its custody services for digital assets, beginning with bitcoin (BTC). The service will cater to institutional clients such as registered investment funds and providers of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a market segment that has seen rapid growth since early 2025.
The custody platform started up in 2021 with the help of a partnership with the fintech company NYDIG. Although, it was taken offline in 2022 after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which told banks they had to list crypto held in custody as a liability on their balance sheets. Accounting in that way made these kinds of services too expensive for most people to afford.
Regulatory Shift Opens the Door
In January 2025, the SEC formally rescinded SAB 121, removing a major hurdle for banks. This made institutions like US Bancorp to rejoin the sector in a better timing
Stephen Philipson, head of US Bank’s institutional division, told Bloomberg the bank is “reopening its playbook and executing it again,” signaling that the bank may expand custody to additional cryptocurrencies if they meet internal compliance standards.
Industry Positioning
The relaunch places US Bancorp in the company of other large financial institutions building digital-asset infrastructure. BNY Mellon introduced its custody platform in 2022, while Citigroup have also advanced plans in the sector. Fidelity, Coinbase, and Anchorage Digital continue to serve as competitors from the crypto-native side.
US Bancorp is also assessing how digital assets could integrate into its broader business lines, including wealth management and consumer payments. According to Google Finance, shares of US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) trade around $48.30, nearly flat on the day of the announcement but up 1.44% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, the desire from institutions for bitcoin exposure keeps going up. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) now manages more than $80 billion in assets, showing volume.
The fact that US Bancorp is back in the market shows that traditional banks are becoming more open to digital assets. Banks now can compete to give custody services, a game changer for big buyers
The move underscores the maturation of the digital asset market, where established banks are no longer sitting on the sidelines but actively building capacity to support ETFs, funds, and wealth managers seeking exposure to Bitcoin.
Also Read: SEC Crypto Task Force Meets Robinhood on Digital Asset Regulation
