Citigroup is preparing to launch a blockchain-based marketplace for shares of private companies, offering institutional and wealthy investors a new route into pre-IPO investments as tokenized finance continues to gain traction across Wall Street.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the platform will issue tokenized depositary receipts through Citi, each representing an ownership interest in a participating private company. The marketplace will initially be available to foreign investors, with access for US-based clients planned for a later date.

Positioning Tokenization as a Cleaner Alternative to SPVs

Citi argues that tokenized depositary receipts offer a more transparent alternative to special-purpose vehicles, commonly known as SPVs, which have long served as the predominant mechanism for granting investors access to privately held companies.

Artem Korenyuk, Citi's digital asset executive, told the Journal that the structure would allow investors to hold private company exposure within the same portfolio as their public equity holdings. The platform would allow investors to invest in private company shares right next to their Apple stock, Korenyuk said.

SIX Digital Exchange to Power the Infrastructure

The blockchain infrastructure underpinning the marketplace will be operated by SIX Digital Exchange, a subsidiary of Switzerland's SIX Group, which operates the Swiss Stock Exchange. Citi confirmed it is already in discussions with several major private companies about making their shares available through the new platform.

Several fintech platforms, including Robinhood, have previously explored offering tokenized exposure to private firms such as OpenAI. Those products have generally provided indirect economic exposure rather than legal ownership of the underlying shares. OpenAI publicly cautioned investors last year that such tokenized products do not represent equity in the company.

Private Markets Attract Institutional Capital at Scale

The launch comes amid intensifying investor appetite for private market exposure, driven in part by a decades-long trend of companies remaining private for longer periods before reaching public exchanges. A report from the American Investment Council, citing PitchBook data from December 2025, showed that private equity outperformed the S&P 500 across five-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year horizons.

The anticipated IPO of SpaceX has brought the trend into sharp relief. Bloomberg reported that retail investors alone placed more than $70 billion in orders for the company's Friday offering as of Thursday, with the company targeting a valuation of $1.8 trillion upon its public debut. The scale of interest underscores how significantly demand for pre-IPO access has grown among retail and institutional participants.

Wall Street's Deepening Commitment to Tokenized Finance

Citi's announcement is part of a broader pattern of major financial institutions accelerating their blockchain strategies. Major banks including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have separately been advancing tokenized deposit networks and blockchain-based fund administration services. The convergence of institutional infrastructure development and rising investor demand for pre-IPO assets positions tokenized securities as one of the more consequential developments in digital finance this year.