Citadel Securities Dives into Crypto with Record $400M Investment

Citadel Securities' $400 million investment in Crypto.com is a significant step towards Wall Street's growing involvement in digital assets. The deal values the exchange at around $20 billion, matching Kraken's previous valuation.

The transaction marks Crypto.com's first institutional funding since its 2016 launch and will be used to expand tokenized securities, derivatives, and other asset classes.

Citadel Securities' investment in Crypto.com is part of a broader strategy by the market maker to increase its presence in the digital-asset space. The firm has been gradually shifting its approach towards cryptocurrencies, having previously cited regulatory uncertainty as a key reason for avoiding them.

In 2021, Citadel Securities' founder Ken Griffin expressed concerns over regulatory uncertainty, but by 2022, he stated that the firm planned to provide digital-asset liquidity while calling for stronger anti-money-laundering controls and institutional safeguards.