Citi Is Creating a Way for Investors to Buy Private Startup Shares Like Stocks
Citigroup has launched Digital Depositary Receipts, a blockchain-based product that provides institutional and rich buyers publicity to non-public startup shares by means of securities the financial institution points and safekeeps.
The receipts choose regulated blockchain infrastructure operated by Switzerland’s SIX. Citi designed the system so different Wall Street banks can undertake it, a element that might form how non-public markets commerce.
How Citi’s Digital Depositary Receipts Work
Depositary receipts have traditionally let buyers maintain overseas shares by means of bank-issued certificates.
According to the WSJ report, Citi has now tailored that wrapper for non-public markets, with issuance recorded on SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) rails.
Buyers obtain a Citi-issued safety moderately than direct fairness. In distinction, special-purpose autos and offshore pre-IPO token models usually depart buyers uncertain what they really personal.
Artem Korenyuk, Citi’s world lead for digital property consumer options, referred to as the receipts a cleaner route.
“This is a very clear various mannequin.”
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The first transaction noticed Citi wealth purchasers spend money on Kaleido, a tokenization platform backed by Citi Ventures.
Access begins with non-US buyers, carrying transaction and upkeep charges, and US availability is deliberate later.
Meanwhile, the financial institution says it’s in talks with a number of the largest non-public firms.
Private Startup Shares Edge Closer to Mainstream Portfolios
The launch extends Citi’s May 2025 partnership with SDX, which made the financial institution a custodian and tokenization agent for late-stage pre-IPO equities.
Sygnum and SBI Digital Markets distribute these property to purchasers in Europe and Asia.
Demand has an apparent driver. Companies similar to SpaceX and Anthropic have delayed going public, pushing buyers into merchandise like tokenized SpaceX shares.
Citi’s personal analysis has projected an 80-fold rise in tokenization across private markets by 2030.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan argued the launch reveals buyers routing round obstacles to going public.
“It’s wonderful to see capital markets heal themselves. Regulators and legal professionals made being public poisonous, so firms began staying non-public longer. But buyers won’t be denied perpetually, and are discovering a resolution through blockchain,” Hougan stated.
However, commentators together with Chad Steingraber noted that entry stays confined to rich and institutional purchasers moderately than retail.
Citi, JPMorgan, and different US banks are additionally planning a shared tokenized deposit community for 2027, deepening the identical settlement push.
The largest non-public issuers authorizing their shares for this system will decide if the RWA tokenization debate strikes from pilots to scale.
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