#PrivateMarkets
8 articles tagged #PrivateMarkets — curated RWA tokenization coverage.
Siebert partners with tZERO for tokenized securities access By Investing.com
Siebert Financial Corp. has entered into a strategic partnership with tZERO to integrate tokenized securities into its digital brokerage platform. This collaboration aims to provide Siebert's client base with streamlined access to private assets and digital securities, leveraging tZERO's established infrastructure for secondary market trading. By incorporating blockchain-based technology, Siebert intends to modernize its service offerings and address the growing demand for alternative investment vehicles. The partnership signifies a broader trend of traditional financial institutions adopting distributed ledger technology to enhance liquidity and operational efficiency in private markets. As tZERO provides the underlying technology for compliant tokenized asset issuance and trading, this integration bridges the gap between legacy brokerage services and the emerging RWA ecosystem. The move reflects a significant step in the institutional adoption of tokenization, potentially setting a precedent for other mid-sized financial firms to explore digital asset integration. Ultimately, this development underscores the increasing maturity of the RWA market as infrastructure providers and retail-facing brokers align to facilitate broader investor participation.
Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital joins tokenization push as Coinbase takes stake in onchain fund
Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, has launched a tokenized version of its private markets strategy on the blockchain. Utilizing infrastructure from UAE-based firm KAIO, the fund is accessible across the Base, Solana, and Sui networks and has already secured approximately $75 million in assets. Coinbase has notably integrated the fund into its corporate balance sheet, marking a significant instance of a publicly traded crypto firm investing in a tokenized private markets product. This development highlights the accelerating trend of major institutional players, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, migrating traditional fund infrastructure to blockchain rails to enhance accessibility and composability. By tokenizing these assets, Mubadala aims to extend institutional-grade investment opportunities to a broader range of qualified investors while maintaining rigorous management standards. The move aligns with the UAE's strategic ambition to establish itself as a global hub for tokenized finance through supportive regulatory frameworks. As traditional finance firms continue to modernize, the integration of programmable, regulated assets into the onchain economy represents a critical step toward the projected multi-trillion dollar growth of the tokenized securities market.
BlackRock expands into private markets with $400 billion fundraising goal, tokenization at the center
BlackRock is shifting its strategic focus from traditional ETFs toward tokenized private markets, setting a target of $400 billion in gross fundraising by 2030. To support this transition, the firm completed strategic acquisitions of Global Infrastructure Partners, HPS Investment Partners, and data provider Preqin. These entities provide the necessary infrastructure for private credit, equity, and physical asset tokenization. The firm's BUIDL tokenized treasury fund, which launched on Ethereum in 2024, reached $2 to $2.5 billion in assets under management by mid-2026. CEO Larry Fink views tokenization as the primary vehicle for expanding access to real estate, credit, and infrastructure assets. BlackRock expects these technology-driven private market strategies to eventually account for over 20% of its long-term revenue. Success remains contingent on regulatory approval for retirement and insurance portfolios to hold these tokenized assets at scale. This pivot signals a major institutional endorsement of blockchain technology as the future backbone for global asset management.
Citi launches market-first tokenized depositary receipts to connect private companies, investors
Citi has officially launched Digital Depositary Receipts (DDRs) to tokenize private company shares, marking a significant advancement in institutional private market access. This initiative represents the first instance of a global financial institution acting as both the issuer and custodian for tokenized depositary receipts. The inaugural transaction involved Kaleido, an institutional tokenization platform and Citi portfolio company, connecting with investors through Citi’s Wealth business. By leveraging Citi’s Secondary Private Markets infrastructure, the solution aims to reduce the complexity typically associated with private equity investments. This development is critical for the RWA market as it establishes a rigorous, bank-grade framework for bringing illiquid private assets onto digital ledgers. The interoperable design of the DDRs is intended to scale capital formation while maintaining the high standards of traditional financial oversight. Ultimately, this move signals a shift toward more transparent and efficient digital asset infrastructure for institutional-grade private market participation.
Want to invest in private companies? Tokenised shares could be the next frontier
Citi has launched the market’s first tokenised depositary receipts (TDRs) to provide wealthy investors with direct access to private company equity. By partnering with Switzerland-based blockchain infrastructure operator SIX, Citi acts as both issuer and custodian for these digital securities. The inaugural transaction involved the institutional platform Kaleido and a Citi portfolio company, marking a significant step in digitizing private market assets. This model allows investors to trade interests in private companies over the counter, effectively bypassing the traditional, lengthy wait for an IPO. By replacing complex special purpose vehicles with a regulated digital structure, the initiative aims to improve liquidity and transparency in historically fragmented markets. While this innovation promises greater accessibility, Citi’s recent report warns of potential risks, including settlement liquidity issues and the danger of mis-selling to investors. Ultimately, the TDR model represents a major effort by global financial institutions to integrate blockchain technology into traditional capital markets to address the growing trend of companies remaining private for longer periods.
Why tokenized SpaceX shares broke before retail investors could buy them
In June 2026, xStocks faced a significant setback when its attempt to offer tokenized SpaceX shares, branded as SPCXx, failed to materialize despite generating over $1 billion in investor demand. Major crypto platforms including Binance Wallet, Bybit, and Bitget Wallet had facilitated the offering, drawing massive interest from retail investors seeking exposure to the private aerospace firm. However, the initiative collapsed because the necessary underlying SpaceX shares could not be secured to back the tokens. This incident serves as a critical case study for the RWA market, demonstrating that while blockchain can digitize ownership and improve settlement, it cannot bypass the fundamental constraints of asset scarcity or traditional equity market regulations. The failure highlights the risks inherent in long operational chains where distribution partners rely on third-party providers to acquire collateral. Ultimately, the event underscores that tokenization is a tool for efficiency rather than a mechanism to create supply, forcing a reevaluation of how "access" is marketed to retail participants. While most investors received refunds, the episode serves as a cautionary tale regarding the distinction between economic exposure and legal shareholder status in tokenized finance.
Coinbase launches pre
Coinbase has launched pre-IPO markets for non-US users, beginning with perpetual futures contracts tied to the valuation of SpaceX. These USDC-settled contracts allow 24/7 trading without expiry, enabling retail investors to gain exposure to private companies that were previously restricted to venture capital and institutional players. Upon a company's eventual public listing, these positions automatically transition into post-IPO perpetual futures. This move highlights a broader industry trend among major exchanges like Kraken, Binance, and Bitget to offer synthetic or tokenized access to private market assets. The initiative reflects growing demand for fractionalized exposure to illiquid assets, a sector currently experiencing significant expansion within the broader RWA market. With the RWA market reaching $51 billion, such products aim to bridge the gap between traditional private equity and crypto-native trading platforms. By targeting high-profile firms like SpaceX, which holds valuations reaching $1.75 trillion, Coinbase is positioning itself to capture market share in the increasingly competitive landscape of private market derivatives.
Citigroup Offers Tokenized Shares Of Private Companies To Wealthy Clients
Citigroup is launching a blockchain-based platform enabling wealthy clients to trade tokenized shares of private companies, marking a significant expansion of its digital asset strategy. The bank is currently in discussions with major global private firms to integrate their equity into this new infrastructure. This initiative aligns with broader Wall Street interest in high-profile private entities like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. Citigroup previously projected the tokenized securities market could reach $4 trillion by 2030, positioning it as a transformative use-case for blockchain technology. The move builds upon the bank's 2023 pilot of Token Services, which utilized a private blockchain for instantaneous deposit transfers. By facilitating access to private equity through tokenization, Citigroup aims to modernize traditional investment workflows and liquidity. This development underscores the growing institutional commitment to integrating blockchain into mainstream financial services for high-net-worth investors.