Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers in the financial world, is making a bold move into the cryptocurrency space. Led by Ken Griffin, the firm is betting on President Trump’s support to drive a boom in digital assets and plans to become a key player in the market.
Citadel Plans to Join Major Crypto Exchanges
This marks a major shift from Citadel Securities’ earlier cautious approach to crypto. The firm had limited involvement in crypto trading, avoiding exchanges popular with retail investors due to unclear regulations in the US. It now aims to join major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Crypto.com as a market maker as per a latest report from Bloomberg.
Once approved on exchanges, Citadel plans to establish market-making teams outside the US. Until now, Citadel avoided major crypto exchanges frequented by retail traders. The collapse of FTX in 2022 raised concerns about conflicts of interest and fund manipulation due to a lack of separation between custody, market-making, and trading. The firm has already partnered with companies like Charles Schwab and Fidelity to launch EDX Markets, an exchange for institutional crypto trading.
Trump’s Crypto Push Sparks Regulatory Changes
Citadel Securities, along with other financial firms, is advocating for clear regulations to guide institutional investment in digital assets. The firm aims to provide liquidity and trade digital assets like it does with traditional asset classes, once the US establishes a regulatory framework.
Under the Trump administration, the financial industry is gearing up for more digital asset activity. Trump’s push to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” has sparked efforts to overhaul regulations, including an executive order on digital assets and the launch of a crypto task force by the SEC.
Citadel has evolved into a global trading giant, active in markets for equities, bonds, and ETFs. However, unlike peers like Jane Street and Jump Crypto, Citadel has avoided crypto market-making. While firms like Jump and Jane Street scaled back their US crypto activity amid regulatory crackdowns, they’ve continued trading in overseas markets.
