Citi Launches Blockchain Marketplace for Private Company Shares

Crypto Insight Summary: The US banking giant's blockchain marketplace will offer tokenized depositary receipts of private company shares amid Wall Street's broad embrace of tokenized assets. Citigroup is launching a blockchain-based marketplace for private company shares, looking to give wealthy and institutional investors a new way to gain exposure to pre-IPO firms as Wall Street pushes deeper into tokenized finance. According to [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/citigroup-is-rolling-out-tokenized-shares-of-private-companies-64cd19ba), the platform will use tokenized depositary receipts issued by Citi, which represent ownership interests in private companies. The offering will initially be initially available to foreign investors, with US access planned at a later date. The initiative allows investors to invest in private company shares “right next to their Apple stock, Citi digital asset executive Artem Korenyuk told the Journal. Major banks are increasingly adopting tokenization to modernize traditional financial markets. Citi argues that structuring private investments through tokenized depositary receipts offers a more transparent alternative to special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which have become a common, but often opaque, way for investors to access private companies. OpenAI last year [cautioned](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/02/openai-robinhood-tokens.html) investors that these so-called tokenized stocks do not represent equity in the company. Source:_[_OpenAI Newsroom_](https://x.com/OpenAINewsroom/status/1940502391037874606?) The underlying infrastructure of the venture's blockchain will be operated by SIX Digital Exchange, a subsidiary of Switzerland's stock exchange operator, SIX Group. Last December, the American Investment Council published a report citing PitchBook data showing that private equity outperformed the S&P 500 index across five-, 10-, 15- and 20-year investment horizons. Crypto Insight Analysis: Direction: Bullish ETH / Neutral BTC Impact: Minor Impact Horizon: Mid-term (1-8 weeks) Reasoning: Citigroup's tokenized shares platform could drive institutional adoption of blockchain, benefiting ETH, but impact on BTC is limited.