Citi has executed a market-first with its launch of the Digital Depositary Receipts on private shares, a model to broaden 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 tokenised depositary receipts representing private companies.
“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,” said Bis Chatterjee, head of partnerships and innovation, services at Citi.
As IPO timelines stretch, Citi has launched a digital depositary receipt solution designed to give private companies another route to liquidity outside fragmented secondary markets.
The model applies Citi Issuer Services’ depositary receipt product to private market shares, using blockchain infrastructure operated by SIX to tokenise those shares.
Citi serves as custodian on the platform, supporting settlement and safekeeping of the tokenised depositary receipts through a single issuer and custody structure.
The solution has gone live through an inaugural transaction between Kaleido, an institutional tokenisation and digital asset platform and Citi portfolio company, and investors within Citi’s Wealth business.
“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,” added Chatterjee.
