Citibank Teams With SDX to Tokenize Private Equity—Wall Street Plays Catch-Up With Blockchain

Wall Street’s latest blockchain experiment just went live—and for once, it’s not just hype. Citibank and Swiss Digital Exchange (SDX) are tokenizing private market shares, dragging the $10T private equity sector kicking and screaming onto the chain.

Why it matters: Private markets are notoriously illiquid, paperwork-choked, and accessible only to the ultra-wealthy. Tokenization could slash settlement times from weeks to minutes while opening the asset class to smaller investors. That is, if the suits don’t strangle it in red tape first.

The fine print: This isn’t Citi’s first blockchain rodeo (remember their crypto custody flop?), but partnering with SDX’s regulated exchange gives the project institutional cred. The pilot will test tokenized shares of private equity funds—assets usually locked up for years.

Bottom line: Another brick in the tokenized asset revolution—or just bankers doing blockchain theater to appease shareholders? Either way, the private markets won’t stay private forever.