Citi Wealth Studies Bitcoin and Ether Funds After $643.3 Million in Outflows
Key Facts
Citi Wealth published a report examining spot-traded Bitcoin and Ether funds as options for diversifying portfolios, placing digital assets alongside traditional investments. The report was titled "Expanding the Investable Universe: An Introduction to Crypto Funds," according to TokenPost. The report did not establish that the bank is directly promoting these funds to clients; instead, it presented them as instruments that could be considered for portfolios. This comes as U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin funds recorded net outflows of $643.3 million on Friday, October 30, according to CoinDesk, citing SoSoValue data. That was the largest daily outflow since June 25, according to the same source.
The October 30 outflows ranked 12th among the largest daily withdrawals since U.S. spot Bitcoin funds began trading in January 2024. BlackRock’s IBIT led the outflows, recording $233.70 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC, with a $201.4 million withdrawal. These funds are generally considered an indicator of institutional demand for Bitcoin, according to CoinDesk. The outlet cited Derive as attributing the outflows to a Binance breach late Thursday, which it valued at $6.3 billion. That explanation remains attributed to Derive; the report did not confirm the incident was the sole cause of the outflows.
CoinDesk said the Coinbase premium remained in negative territory, between -0.18% and -0.27%, as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to a range of 30–34. The outlet said institutional and spot buying momentum had weakened in that environment. These indicators provide market context for Citi Wealth’s report, but they relate to conditions CoinDesk reported on November 2 and do not establish an outflow trend extending across two sessions. Citigroup shares closed at $123.1 on November 2, according to L7 data. Bitcoin also closed at $76,816 that day, according to the same data.
Citi Wealth’s report places this interest within a broader shift by the bank toward digital assets. Citi said clients in its markets and wealth management divisions are exploring opportunities for exposure to cryptocurrencies, tokenized funds and digital bonds. The bank added that it is expanding access to these assets "within a disciplined risk management framework" and preparing to custody them in a regulated environment. At its Investor Day on May 7, 2026, Citi said it was already providing custody services for stablecoin reserves and cryptocurrency funds, and that it would soon launch custody services for native digital assets such as Bitcoin. These steps show the bank pursuing several paths, including access through funds and the development of custody services, without the report implying that clients received a direct recommendation to buy.
Citi also said in May that its tokenized deposits service was available in five global locations, with hundreds of clients moving nearly $1 billion a day through it. The bank links the expansion of digital assets to a clear regulatory framework, saying clear rules are necessary to expand innovation responsibly and maintain trust in the system. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 1 proposed amendments that would allow, subject to conditions, investment advisers and regulated funds to custody crypto assets themselves in certain cases or use state-chartered trust companies. On August 18, the SEC also proposed exemptions for some crypto asset-related investment contract offerings, including offerings of up to $5 million over four years and others of up to $75 million in each 12-month period. CoinDesk’s near-term milestones center on the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, which could affect regulatory expectations, followed by the October nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for November 6. The report could affect Federal Reserve interest rate expectations and crypto assets.