Citigroup Launches Trading in Tokenized Shares

Citigroup has launched a blockchain platform for trading tokenized shares of private companies, with international investors set to get access first. This is a new step for large clients who need faster access to pre-IPO deals, but without the old schemes with unnecessary intermediaries.

The launch was announced after a WSJ report. Citi says the infrastructure runs on authorized tokenized depositary receipts issued by the bank itself. The focus is on private rounds of SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI, where demand for access has long outstripped supply. And this is where tokenization looks like an attempt to make the process clearer for investors.

Why did Citi get into tokenizing private shares?

The reason is simple. Large investors want to buy stakes in private companies as quickly as they buy shares of listed issuers, but traditional structures often go through SPVs and leave many questions about what exactly was purchased. Citi’s global head of direct digital assets, Artem Koreniuk, said the new infrastructure makes it possible to work with private companies almost the same way as with public securities.

Another important point is the regulatory tone. Citi is trying to move tokenization of private assets into a more controlled environment within the traditional financial sector. For the market, this is a signal: major banks are no longer looking at tokenization as an experiment, but are building separate products around it. That is why this news matters not only for traders, but also for funds, family offices and clients looking for access to pre-IPO stories without unnecessary bureaucracy.

“Clients can place shares of private companies effectively next to their Apple shares,” Artem Koreniuk said. Citi also says tokenized receipts should be a more transparent alternative to SPVs, because investors better understand what they are buying.

And that is no small thing. When a product is described in these terms, the bank is effectively saying: we want to remove the gray areas that have frustrated the private investment market for years. The next logical step is to look at how the tokenization market itself is reacting.

How does the new service work and who gets access first?

According to Citi, the product uses authorized tokenized depositary receipts, and the infrastructure is provided by Switzerland’s SIX. The bank also emphasized that other banks may use the solution as well. This opens the door to broader adoption of tokenization on Wall Street, although initial access is limited to international investors, with U.S. clients expected to get access later.

There is another layer here. On May 6, 2025, Citi and SDX had already announced a partnership, with the live launch planned for Q3 2025. SDX operates under FINMA licenses and is responsible for issuance, trading, settlement and custody of digital assets. In other words, the bank is not just testing an idea, but relying on ready-made infrastructure that has long been built for digital assets.

Against this backdrop, Citi’s launch looks pragmatic. The bank is not chasing loud hype, but trying to build a product that can fit into the existing rules of the game. For investors, this matters because earlier attempts to tokenize private shares through other mechanisms often drew criticism from the companies themselves, including OpenAI and Anthropic.

• International investors will get access first.

• The product runs on authorized tokenized depositary receipts.

• The infrastructure is provided by Switzerland’s SIX.

• Citi already had a prior agreement with SDX dated May 6, 2025.

• According to Citi Institute, the tokenized assets market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.

Market reaction and why this is not just another crypto pilot

The tokenized assets market no longer looks like a small experiment. According to CoinGecko, the market capitalization of tokenized real-world assets rose from $5.42 billion at the start of 2025 to $19.32 billion on March 31, 2026. Tokenized shares accounted for only 2.5% of that segment, while spot trading volume in them reached $15.1 billion in Q1 2026.

Citi Institute is looking even further ahead. In a June 2026 report, the bank set the base-case market size for tokenized assets in 2030 at $5.5 trillion, with a bullish case of $8.2 trillion. But for private equity, Citi expects only about $100 billion in tokenized exposure, or roughly 0.8% of the $12 trillion TAM estimate. That is a good reality check for those who like big promises without numbers.

Against this backdrop, Citi’s launch looks pragmatic. The bank is not chasing loud hype, but trying to build a product that can fit into the existing rules of the game. For investors, this matters because earlier attempts to tokenize private shares through other mechanisms often drew criticism from the companies themselves, including OpenAI and Anthropic.

• International investors will get access first.

• The product runs on authorized tokenized depositary receipts.

• The infrastructure is provided by Switzerland’s SIX.

• Citi already had a prior agreement with SDX dated May 6, 2025.

• According to Citi Institute, the tokenized assets market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.

What does this mean for investors?

For large clients, this is an attempt to buy access to private companies without unnecessary intermediary structures. For smaller investors, the signal is different: the private shares market is rapidly becoming even more formalized, which means access may remain selective and expensive. That is why such news should be read not as a bank’s marketing gesture, but as a change in the rules of the game.

There is also a regulatory backdrop. On January 28, 2026, the SEC said that any type of security can be tokenized, but third-party instruments that provide only economic exposure without rights to the shares may be considered security-based swaps. And in 2026, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee opposed a blanket exemption for tokenized shares and proposed three safeguards: clear disclosure of ownership rights, oversight by the SEC, states and FINRA, and best execution protection.

That is why Citi’s launch matters for Ukrainian readers following the global market as well. If major banks begin moving private assets onto blockchain at scale, demand for such instruments will grow in international portfolios too, and competition for liquidity will change. For those working with crypto assets, this is another sign that tokenization is moving beyond the crypto market alone.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly did Citigroup launch in tokenizing private shares?

Citigroup launched a blockchain platform for trading tokenized shares of private companies through authorized depositary receipts. The service will first be available to international investors, and later the bank plans to open it to clients in the U.S.

Why isn’t Citi using the usual SPV structure?

The bank believes tokenized receipts are more transparent than SPVs because investors better understand what they are buying. This is important amid criticism of such products from OpenAI and Anthropic, which stressed that similar instruments do not grant ownership rights to shares.

Is the tokenized assets market already large?

Yes, but it is still far from the 2030 forecasts. According to CoinGecko, the RWA segment’s market capitalization rose to $19.32 billion on March 31, 2026, and tokenized shares accounted for 2.5% of it.

Citi’s launch shows that tokenization of private assets is entering a phase where ownership rights, regulatory frameworks and access to liquidity matter more than loud promises. If you need to quickly sell Bitcoin on Monobank, you can do it without unnecessary steps and in a convenient way for everyday payments.

This material is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks. Part of this text was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on public sources and reviewed by our editorial team.