Citigroup on June 11, 2026, started rolling out a product that enables rich purchasers and institutional buyers to commerce shares of personal firms as tokens on a blockchain, in line with The Wall Road Journal (WSJ).
The product is initially open solely to non-U.S. buyers and operates on SIX’s blockchain infrastructure in Switzerland, whereas Citi acts because the issuer and custodian. This transfer goals to create a extra structured channel into personal markets, as many main tech firms stay personal longer and demand for pre-IPO shares continues to rise.
How Citi’s Tokenized Receipts Work
Citi’s new product is constructed on a tokenized depositary receipts construction. These are securities representing pursuits tied to non-public firm shares, issued by Citi and recorded as tokens on a blockchain.
Citi additionally serves because the custodian for the underlying property, inserting the product nearer to conventional securities infrastructure somewhat than an unbiased token traded exterior the banking system. The product is at present solely open to non-U.S. buyers inside Citi’s wealth and institutional consumer segments.
The financial institution will apply transaction and upkeep charges, however has not but introduced the particular payment schedule. The infrastructure at present operates on Switzerland’s SIX blockchain. Citi said it might develop to different blockchain networks and permit different banks to make use of this infrastructure sooner or later.
Kaleido Marks the First Transaction
The primary transaction on the platform concerned Kaleido, an organization that gives tokenization and digital asset infrastructure for establishments. In response to the WSJ, a Citi wealth consumer invested in Kaleido via the tokenized depositary receipt mannequin.
The choice of Kaleido carries its personal significance as the corporate operates within the actual sector Citi seeks to commercialize: bringing personal property onto monetary institution-controlled blockchain infrastructure. On this transaction, Kaleido serves as each the funding asset and a real-world instance of the kind of market Citi goals to develop.
Nonetheless, Citi has not disclosed the transaction dimension, the variety of taking part buyers, or the particular phrases of the receipt.
Why Citi Is Concentrating on Non-public Shares
Citi is getting into this house as personal markets grow to be a bigger element of rich and institutional investor portfolios. Firms like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are extremely wanted pre-IPO, however entry is commonly constrained by investor {qualifications}, share switch rights, and tight management by the issuing firms themselves.
Beforehand, buyers looking for publicity to this asset class sometimes went via special-purpose automobiles, secondary funds, or bespoke agreements. These buildings might be advanced, closely layered with charges, and it’s not at all times clear what rights the investor truly holds relating to the underlying shares.
Citi is trying to place its new product as a extra structured different: that includes a serious financial institution performing as issuer and custodian, receipts representing the property, and transaction information on a blockchain. These features distinguish the product from conventional personal share entry channels, which are sometimes fragmented and more durable to trace.
Wall Road Strikes Past Pilots
Citi’s product emerges amidst a broader wave on Wall Road. Main banks together with JPMorgan, Financial institution of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo are taking part in a plan to construct a tokenized deposits community within the U.S., projected to launch within the first half of 2027. The community, operated by The Clearing Home, goals to help 24/7 funds, real-time liquidity administration, and cross-border transactions.
Within the securities sector, the NYSE, Nasdaq, Securitize, BNY Mellon, and quite a few different monetary establishments are additionally testing or growing infrastructure for tokenized securities. Tokenized money-market funds and tokenized Treasuries are at present the segments with the clearest use instances as a result of the underlying property are extra standardized, extremely liquid, and simpler to cost than personal firm shares.
Complete RWA worth in 2025 chart. Supply: RWA.xyz
In response to RWA.xyz information, greater than $25 billion in real-world property had been introduced on-chain by the top of 2025, although this determine displays the size of tokenization somewhat than precise secondary market liquidity.
The Liquidity Query
Citi’s biggest threat lies not in whether or not it might probably tokenize shares, however in whether or not these tokens might be traded with adequate liquidity. Non-public shares are inherently troublesome to worth as a result of firms don’t report publicly like listed enterprises. Pricing sometimes depends on the latest funding spherical, remoted secondary transactions, or inside valuations.
The rights of token holders stay a key level requiring clarification, spanning from voting rights and financial rights to how receipts deal with dividends or switch restrictions. These particulars will decide whether or not the product can scale past its preliminary consumer base.
The participation of the personal firms themselves can be essential, as many massive startups tightly management their cap tables and secondary buying and selling. With out express approval from the share-issuing firm, buyers will discover it troublesome to evaluate whether or not the token is tied to legitimate shares or is merely a product replicating the worth of personal shares.
What Comes Subsequent for Citi
Within the quick time period, Citi’s product stays a managed market check. Key components to observe embody what number of extra personal firms Citi can convey onto the platform, whether or not transaction volumes develop massive sufficient to generate secondary liquidity, and when the product will open to U.S. buyers.
Citi holds benefits in its main financial institution model, wealth/institutional consumer community, and custody capabilities. Nonetheless, the product will solely grow to be actually important if the financial institution can onboard high-quality personal firms to the platform whereas clarifying receipt holder rights and switch situations.
This transfer demonstrates that tokenization is advancing deeper into conventional capital markets infrastructure, the place the core challenges contain not simply blockchain expertise, however custody, securities regulation, settlement, and asset possession rights.
