Ken Griffin’s Citadel Crypto Securities Enters Crypto Market in Major Shift

The long-rumored Citadel Crypto venture has arrived, reshaping the crypto landscape in real time. Citadel Securities is set to provide liquidity on major platforms like Coinbase, Binance, and Crypto.com—signaling a major shift in institutional backing for digital assets.

Citadel Securities, the trading giant behind $503 billion in daily activity and a third of U.S. stock trades, is stepping into the crypto ring. Hints of this move surfaced at the UBS Financial Services Conference in February, where Griffin teased a shift in strategy.

Now, sources confirm Citadel Crypto will be a digital assets market maker, building specialized trading teams offshore to sidestep U.S. regulatory hurdles.

Regulatory Winds Favor Crypto

Citadel’s crypto pivot isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Trump administration has been busy crafting a friendlier regulatory landscape for digital assets, including creating an SEC crypto task force headed by Hester Peirce, a known industry ally.

Ken Griffin, who once blasted the sector for its lack of controls, now applauds these moves. Speaking to the South Florida Business Journal, he said, “Markets clean themselves up when tier-one players are allowed to participate. I’d like to see that happen in crypto.”

A New Chapter for Institutional Crypto Adoption

Citadel isn’t a total stranger to crypto. In 2023, they launched EDX Markets with Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments. Built for institutions, EDX split trading from custody, avoiding the pitfalls that sank exchanges like FTX.

Its non-custodial model quickly attracted interest from cautious financial heavyweights, with Singapore emerging as a key growth hub.

Citadel Securities’s decision to enter crypto is less about their bottom line and more about the industry’s evolution. This isn’t just about one firm—it’s a reflection of a broader shift among legacy finance.

There will be hurdles—regulation, rug pulls, execution, and the lingering volatility of the crypto market, but the significance is hard to miss.

Citadel’s move legitimizes an industry still shaking off its growing pains and opens the door to deeper institutional involvement.