60% of top U.S. banks are gearing up for Bitcoin services

For years, crypto executives argued that big banks wanted nothing to do with them, and some blamed a quiet “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” effort for cutting off access. A new snapshot from Bitcoin financial services firm River suggests that stance is fading.

River says about 60% of the top 25 banks operating in the United States have either rolled out Bitcoin-related products or publicly signaled they plan to. The list, shared on X, groups banks that already offer services alongside those still in the planning stage. Either way, trading and custody are no longer fringe pilots. They’re becoming the products that large institutions expect to see.

The sentiment matches what Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said after the World Economic Forum in Davos. He wrote that many bank CEOs he met were increasingly pro crypto, and one leader of a top-10 global bank told him digital assets were the firm’s number-one priority and “existential.”

River’s chart includes three of America’s “Big Four” banks. JPMorgan Chase has said it is considering adding crypto trading. Wells Fargo offers services such as bitcoin-backed loans for institutional clients. Citigroup has been exploring institutional crypto custody. Together, those three banks manage more than $7.3 trillion in assets, based on Forbes estimates.

The list is still growing. UBS, which operates in the U.S., has reportedly been evaluating a way to offer bitcoin and ether exposure to its wealthiest private-banking clients, a reminder that demand is showing up first where fees are highest.

Not everyone is ready to embrace every corner of the sector. Major banks have been among the loudest critics of yield-bearing stablecoins, arguing they could introduce new systemic risks.

River also notes that roughly 10 of the top 25 banks remain on the sidelines. Bank of America has not announced plans for Bitcoin services, and Capital One and Truist Bank have yet to outline offerings. If regulated access becomes a default feature at most large banks, crypto stops being a specialist product and starts looking like another line item in mainstream finance.