- U.S. Bank has relaunched its Bitcoin custody service for institutional managers after a pause driven by regulatory uncertainty.
- The renewed offering, announced on September 3, 2025, includes support for Bitcoin ETFs and relies on a subcustodial model with NYDIG to combine banking compliance with specialized technical infrastructure.
Relaunch and background
The custody service originally began in 2021, was paused in 2022, and was restarted to reflect greater regulatory clarity that reduces barriers for banks to offer custody services. U.S. Bank’s decision to resume custody operations on September 3, 2025, follows a period in which regulatory uncertainty made many banks cautious about holding digital assets, and the relaunch aims to enable banks to provide custody without assuming disproportionate capital burdens while serving exchange-listed products.
Subcustodial model with NYDIG
The service uses a subcustodial model in which U.S. Bank acts as the intermediary and primary contractual party to the client while NYDIG assumes technical custody of private keys and management of cold reserves. This structure preserves the bank’s regulatory control functions, client reporting responsibilities and customer service roles while outsourcing cryptographic infrastructure and operational key management to a specialized custodian, aligning traditional banking controls with crypto-native technical expertise.
Security and compliance features
Security measures center on cold storage, multisignature access controls, segregation of duties and regular audits to limit hacking risks and maintain oversight for institutional clients and regulators. By separating assets from connected networks, implementing multisig policies and splitting operational responsibilities between the bank and the subcustodian, the service seeks to balance strong technical protections with the bank’s regulatory reporting and compliance obligations.
Product support and use cases
The offering supports direct custody of Bitcoin as well as operational and regulatory support for ETFs, registered funds and private vehicles, facilitating administration of exchange-listed products by institutional managers. Combining traditional banking capabilities with digital-asset operations enables managers to deploy regulated custody for listed products while relying on the bank’s reporting infrastructure and the subcustodian’s technical custody services.
Risks and industry implications
The relaunch consolidates a broader trend of traditional banks expanding crypto services, but introduces risks such as dependence on technical third parties and exposure to future regulatory changes. If regulatory stability persists, the likely outcome is increased institutional flows into Bitcoin through regulated vehicles, strengthening institutional infrastructure and intermediated access while not replacing the importance of self-custody for users prioritizing financial sovereignty.
Conclusion
U.S. Bank’s relaunch represents a step toward normalizing crypto services in traditional banking by providing regulated custody and ETF support backed by a technical partnership with NYDIG. Institutional managers gain an additional regulated alternative that will coexist with self-custody options, and for more details the official release is available on the U.S. Bank investor website.
