BCG Report: Custody as the Operating Layer Beneath Digital Finance

30%+

Of digital assets are held through institutional custody models

2/3

Of custodian selections now come down to security and key-signing protocols

Custody is the entry point to an entirely new market. Morgan Stanley, Citi, and BNY are among the major banks already building or expanding their own digital asset custody, treating it as a foundation for new revenue, not just a place to hold assets. The upside is real: BCG estimates that for a regional bank with $200–300 billion in assets, pairing custody with digital asset use cases could unlock $80–100 million in profit.

Now every bank has to decide what role it wants to play. BCG’s new report, Beyond Safekeeping: Custody as the Operating Layer Beneath Digital Finance, examines what that decision looks like in practice. Custody is not a single use case; it's the prerequisite for every service that follows, from tokenized asset servicing to stablecoin issuance and payments. Download the report for a practical look at what to own, where to partner, and which custody model fits each use case.