Citi has announced the launch of digital depositary receipts on private shares, introducing a direct and transparent model that broadens access to private markets for both global issuers and investors.

The launch marks the first time a global financial services company is both issuing and acting as a custodian for tokenized depositary receipts representing private companies, according to a statement by the US bank.

Biswarup Chatterjee, head of partnerships and innovation for Citi’s services business, said: “As private markets continue to grow, so has the need for diverse and trusted access points.

“Our digital depositary receipts product is designed to provide superior client service, safeguard assets and facilitate capital markets activity with the same rigour that underpins traditional financial markets. The interoperability of the product will further enable Citi to support a wider range of issuers and investors as digital asset market infrastructure continues to evolve.”

Citi’s model uses tokenized depositary receipts to provide a flexible, institutional-grade alternative capable of meeting the scale needed for private markets. While other structures such as third-party special purpose vehicles (SPVs) serve a function, Citi’s model can reduce the potential for complexity and hidden costs given Citi acts as a single, trusted issuer and custodian.

Digital depositary receipts applies Citi issuer services’ depositary receipt product to private market shares, using blockchain infrastructure operated by SIX to tokenize those shares. As part of its collaboration with SIX, Citi serves as a custodian on the platform, responsible for the settlement and safekeeping of the tokenized depositary receipts.

This new solution went live with an inaugural transaction between Kaleido, an institutional tokenization and digital asset platform and a Citi portfolio company, and investors within its wealth business, with support from Citi’s secondary private markets business.

This launch represents a coordinated One Citi effort, bringing together its Issuer services, custody, wealth, markets, and ventures teams to enhance the client experience and establish a scalable model for future issuances.

This innovation is designed to ensure issuers receive efficient distribution and transfer without the need for public listing or altering underlying ownership rights. Companies maintain control over voting and a more simplified cap table management structure while broadening investor outreach.

For wealth clients, this product expands access to offerings through a familiar investment structure. By integrating tokenized depositary receipts into existing wealth platforms, Citi aims to enhance client optionality while maintaining the operational safeguards and client experience investors expect.

“As digital assets reshape how financial markets evolve, our priority is ensuring Citi Wealth clients can engage with these developments in a secure and familiar way,” said Deborah Querub, head of digital assets for wealth.

“We’re focused on responsibly expanding access to new types of investment opportunities while preserving the structures, protections, and experience our clients expect. This transaction is an incremental step in our process of leveraging digital capabilities to enhance options for our wealth clients.”

Citi is considering future extensions of this offering to operate across both digital and traditional financial market infrastructures, as well as multiple blockchain networks.