Bitcoin Tests $65,000: Will BlackRock and Citi Fuel the Next Rally?

Bitcoin (BTC) pushed against $65,000 on Tuesday. At the same moment, two Wall Street giants deepened their commitment. BlackRock repeated its call for a 1-2% portfolio allocation, and Citi confirmed its Bitcoin custody service will arrive this year.

The timing is striking. Bitcoin still sits about 50% below its October 2025 peak, yet the firms building institutional access keep expanding.

BlackRock Sticks With Its 1-2% Bitcoin Allocation

BlackRock re-examined Bitcoin in a note published Monday. Digital asset executives Robert Mitchnick and Will Su wrote it after the market’s steep slide. Their verdict? The selloff came from forced selling inside crypto markets, not a weaker long-term case.

The refreshed 10-year analysis matched guidance from June. Back then, the firm first told institutions exactly how much Bitcoin to hold.

A 1-2% slice, funded from stocks, would have improved risk-adjusted returns in a classic 60/40 portfolio.

JUST IN: BlackRock says 1-2% Bitcoin exposure is ideal, core thesis intact.🔸Expects TradFi correlation to trend lower.🔸AI products now the biggest capital rival. pic.twitter.com/3jvJ1aAxVq

— Bitcoin Archive (@BitcoinArchive) August 18, 2026

The authors also pointed to Bitcoin’s low long-term link with stocks and bonds. Periods when it trades in lockstep with equities tend to fade, they argued.

The stance matters because of BlackRock’s scale. It is the world’s largest asset manager. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) held over $47 billion in assets by March 2026.

Moreover, BlackRock client buying rebounded in late July, even with the average US spot ETF buyer sitting 22% underwater.

Citi Puts BTC Inside Its New Custody+ Platform

Meanwhile, Citi answered a different question. Where do institutions actually keep the bitcoin they buy? The bank unveiled Custody+ on Tuesday, a platform built for markets that never close.

Wall Street giant Citi will launch $BTC custody later this year.Integrated into its new Custody+ platform, clients can manage both traditional assets and crypto under one roof.The rollout also adds 24/7 tokenized deposits, real-time asset servicing, and instant settlements. pic.twitter.com/AyIpe42oAU

— BeInCrypto (@beincrypto) August 18, 2026

Digital asset custody goes live later this year, starting with Bitcoin. Clients will hold stocks, bonds, and crypto inside one setup, with no separate crypto systems.

The scale behind the build is real money. Citi says it spends over $2 billion a year on its platform strategy. Its custody network covers more than 100 markets.

“Custody+ is the product of a multi-year commitment to building infrastructure that matches the speed of our clients’ strategies,” Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi Investor Services, said in the announcement.

The launch also feeds the race among major banks for institutional Bitcoin demand. Fidelity currently leads Strategy’s Bitcoin Banking Adoption Index, which ranks how far big lenders have moved into bitcoin. Citi sits among the chasers.

Bitcoin traded near $64,708 at press time, having pulled back from an intra-day high of $65,058, levels last tested over a week ago.

However, the bigger story sits behind the chart. Institutions have long cited two practical barriers, sizing and safekeeping. BlackRock now supplies the math. Citi supplies the vault.