Citi and SDX Join Forces to Unlock Access to Tokenized Private Market Assets for Global Issuers and Investors
Citi will join SDX as a custodian and tokenization agent as both parties work together to unveil an industry-first solution in the third quarter of 2025
SINGAPORE, May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Citi and SDX today announced their collaboration at the Point Zero Forum in Switzerland that addresses challenges associated with traditional private markets for global issuers and investors. Citi will be tokenizing, settling and safekeeping assets on SDX's digital Central Securities Depositary (CSD) platform and will bring late-stage pre-IPO equities to institutional and eligible investors on the SDX platform.
Expected to be live by the third quarter of 2025, Citi and SDX are developing a scalable solution that will make shares in high-growth, venture-backed private companies much more accessible to investors. For issuers, it will present a novel and compliant model to simplify liquidity management for early investors and employees while enabling cap table control.
The collaboration leverages Citi's expertise in securities services and private market investments, and SDX's regulated infrastructure for digital securities.
David Newns, Head of SDX, said, 'We are excited to welcome Citi to the SDX platform and together deliver this landmark project in the tokenization of private shares. 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.'
Marni McManus, Citi Country Officer & Head of Banking for Switzerland, Monaco & Liechtenstein, said, 'Switzerland's regulatory framework and SDX's infrastructure allows Citi to bring a new solution to market using technology to solve for challenges in private markets for issuers and investors. Private markets is a major and growing opportunity and our work with SDX promises to simplify and digitize what is essentially a manual and paper-driven industry today.'
Ryan Marsh, Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Investor Services and Issuer Services at Citi, said, 'As a digital custodian and tokenization agent on the SDX platform, Citi will support its global investor and issuer clients with end-to-end servicing of tokenized assets. As tokenization 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.'
The collaboration between Citi and SDX further supports the development of the Swiss digital asset ecosystem and its connectivity with key global markets worldwide. Global digital asset banking group, Sygnum, and Singapore-based financial institution, SBI Digital Markets, will facilitate access to the pre-IPO equities that Citi will bring onto the SDX platform to their clients in Europe and Asia, respectively.
About SDX
SDX Group AG (SDX) and its subsidiaries operate financial market infrastructures (FMIs) for the issuance, trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets, licensed by FINMA, Switzerland's financial market regulator. SDX operates a stock exchange through SDX Trading AG and SIX Digital Exchange AG, Switzerland's first and only Central Securities Depository (CSD) on DLT. SDX Web3 AG is also part of the Group and offers institutional-grade crypto asset custody and staking solutions. As part of SIX Group, SDX is subject to the Group's high quality and security standards covered under Swiss law. SDX is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
https://www.sdx.com/
About Citi
Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in nearly 180 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | X: @Citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi
About the Point Zero Forum Jointly hosted by Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) with the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) annually in Zurich, what sets the Point Zero Forum apart is its focus on action-oriented outcomes: it moves beyond discussion to catalyse pilots, shape policy frameworks, and enable cross-border collaborations in areas such as digital money, asset tokenisation, artificial intelligence and green finance infrastructure. The fourth edition of the Forum convenes a curated community of global decision-makers to build trust in frontier innovation, co-design next-generation financial architecture, and align on regulatory pathways that are both robust and enabling.
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