Citi opens new route into private markets with tokenized share offering

Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Citi opens new route into private markets with tokenized share offering The 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 read Make preferred on (Mario Tama/Getty Images) 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.