Citi and SDX, a Zurich-based digital securities exchange, have announced a collaboration at the Point Zero Forum in Switzerland aimed at addressing challenges within traditional private markets for global issuers and investors.
Citi will be responsible for tokenising, settling, and safekeeping assets on SDX’s digital Central Securities Depositary (CSD) platform.
The collaboration will enable Citi to bring late-stage pre-IPO equities to institutional and eligible investors via the SDX platform.
The solution, which is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2025, will aim to make shares in high-growth, venture-backed private companies more accessible to investors.
For issuers, it will offer a new and compliant model that simplifies liquidity management for early investors and employees, while also maintaining control over the capital table.
The partnership combines Citi’s expertise in securities services and private market investments with SDX’s regulated infrastructure for digital securities.
David Newns, Head of SDX, said,
“This initiative will distinguish itself in the industry by using SDX’s regulated blockchain-based technology to enable the efficient distribution of shares in mature international private companies, which are expected to generate strong investor interest.”
Ryan Marsh, Head of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships for Investor Services and Issuer Services at Citi, added,
“As a digital custodian and tokenisation agent on the SDX platform, Citi will support its global investor and issuer clients with end-to-end servicing of tokenised assets. As tokenisation scales, we are meeting client demand for access to emerging and relevant digital asset ecosystems and investments. Working with SDX, we are also advancing our innovation agenda to open new frontiers to benefit our clients.”
This collaboration is also expected to contribute to the further development of the Swiss digital asset ecosystem, enhancing its connectivity with key global markets.
Sygnum, a global digital asset banking group, and Singapore-based SBI Digital Markets will help facilitate access to the pre-IPO equities that Citi will bring onto the SDX platform for their clients in Europe and Asia, respectively.
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
