Citi opens new route into private markets with tokenized share offering

FinanceShareShare this articleCopy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailCiti opens new route into private markets with tokenized share offeringThe bank said it is using blockchain technology to connect investors with private company equity through digital depositary receipts.By Helene Braun, AI Boost|Edited by Nikhilesh De Jun 11, 2026, 1:27 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on What to know: Citigroup has introduced Digital Depositary Receipts, a blockchain-based product that lets wealthy and institutional investors gain exposure to private company shares through securities issued and held by the bank.The new structure adapts traditional depositary receipts for private markets and records them on blockchain infrastructure run by Swiss operator SIX, with Citi acting as both issuer and custodian.Citi says the product is part of a broader push to tokenize traditional financial assets, and it plans to expand the offering over time, including to public blockchains, as banks develop shared tokenized deposit networks.Citigroup is launching a new way for wealthy and institutional investors to buy stakes in private companies using blockchain technology as part of a broader push by major banks to bring traditional financial assets onto digital asset networks.The bank on Thursday unveiled what it called Digital Depositary Receipts, a product that allows investors to gain exposure to private company shares through blockchain-based securities issued and held by Citi.The launch comes as many fast-growing companies are waiting longer to go public, leaving investors with fewer ways to access sought-after private firms. At the same time, demand for private-market investments has surged as investors look for opportunities beyond public stocks."Our focus with Digital Depositary Receipts is to continue to expand responsible access to digital asset markets," a Citi spokesperson told CoinDesk.The product debuted with a transaction involving Kaleido, a digital asset and tokenization c…

Citi opens new route into private markets with tokenized share offering

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