Citigroup Launches Digital Depositary Receipts to Put Tokenized Private Company Shares in Reach of Wealthy Clients

Citigroup unveiled a new way for wealthy and institutional investors to buy stakes in private companies using blockchain technology on Thursday, the latest move in a broad push by major banks to bring traditional financial assets onto digital asset networks.

The product, which Citi calls Digital Depositary Receipts, lets investors gain exposure to private company shares through blockchain-based securities issued and held by the bank. It adapts depositary receipts, a longstanding instrument that gives investors exposure to shares through a bank-issued security, and applies the model to private markets. Investors own the depositary receipt rather than the underlying shares directly, while Citi acts as both issuer and custodian. The securities are recorded on blockchain infrastructure operated by Swiss market operator SIX.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The launch arrives as many fast-growing companies wait longer to go public, leaving investors with fewer ways to access sought-after private firms even as demand for private-market exposure has surged. The product debuted with a transaction involving Kaleido, a digital asset and tokenization company backed by Citi Ventures and investors in Citi’s wealth management business. “Our focus with Digital Depositary Receipts is to continue to expand responsible access to digital asset markets,” a Citi spokesperson told CoinDesk. The bank argued the approach could make private-market investing simpler and more transparent than existing structures, which often rely on special-purpose vehicles and multiple intermediaries.

The launch is part of a larger effort by major financial institutions to tokenize traditional assets, representing real-world holdings such as stocks, bonds, or bank deposits as digital tokens that can move across blockchain networks. Earlier this month, Citi joined several of the largest US banks in planning a shared tokenized deposit network through The Clearing House by mid-2027, a system that would convert bank deposits into blockchain-based tokens while keeping funds inside the regulated banking system.

For now, Citi’s private-share product runs on SIX infrastructure. The bank said it plans to expand the offering over time and eventually support public blockchain networks, potentially widening the pool of investors and institutions that can participate.

Related Listen: Why the SEC Paused on Its Innovation Exemption for Tokenization: Bits + Bips