Citi's Tokenized Pre-IPO Shop Opens to Foreigners First, Because America's Waiting Room Is Always Full 🇺🇸

Citigroup is launching a blockchain-based marketplace for private company shares, issuing tokenized depositary receipts that represent ownership interests in pre-IPO firms, according to The Wall Street Journal. The platform will initially be available to foreign investors, with U.S. access planned at a later date, and is designed to give wealthy and institutional investors a streamlined way to gain exposure to companies before they reach public exchanges. Citi digital asset executive Artem Korenyuk told the Journal that the offering allows investors to hold private company shares "right next to their Apple stock."

The platform's underlying blockchain infrastructure will be operated by SIX Digital Exchange, a subsidiary of Switzerland's stock exchange operator, SIX Group. Citi said it is already in discussions with several large private companies about making their shares available on the marketplace. The bank has framed tokenized depositary receipts as a more transparent alternative to special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which have become a common but often opaque vehicle for accessing private companies.

The launch comes amid a surge of fintech activity around pre-IPO exposure. Robinhood and other platforms have explored offering tokenized products tied to private companies such as OpenAI, though those instruments typically provide indirect economic exposure rather than legal ownership of the underlying shares. OpenAI last year cautioned investors that so-called tokenized stocks do not represent equity in the company.

Broader market data underscores the appeal of private investments. The American Investment Council published a report in December citing PitchBook figures showing that private equity outperformed the S&P 500 index across five-, 10-, 15- and 20-year investment horizons, even as the index posted stronger returns over shorter periods. American Investment Council President and CEO Will Dunham said at the time that the long-term outperformance strengthened the case for expanding retail access through vehicles such as 401(k) plans.