From disdain to genuine liking, the global market-making giant Castle Securities builds a crypto "castle"

Author: Zen, PANews

In mid-November, the crypto exchange Kraken announced the completion of two funding rounds totaling $800 million, with its latest valuation soaring to $20 billion; in the second round, one of the world’s largest market makers, Citadel Securities, directly invested $200 million as a strategic investor, joining the shareholder list alongside institutions like Jane Street and DRW.

Meanwhile, another major fundraising this month saw blockchain payments company Ripple secure a $500 million strategic investment, bringing its valuation to $40 billion. The lead investor is also Citadel Securities; additionally, Canton Network, focusing on RWA privacy blockchain, completed a $135 million financing in June, with Citadel Securities still among the investors.

From avoiding to collaborating on launching the institutional exchange EDX Markets, and preparing to provide liquidity on top-tier platforms, as well as heavily betting on stablecoins and RWA public chains, Citadel Securities has fully demonstrated a complete turnaround in its attitude toward crypto assets within less than three years.

Shift in stance: From a “holy war” on the dollar to trying out involvement

Over the past few years, Citadel Securities’s attitude toward cryptocurrencies has undergone significant changes.

In 2021, Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel Securities, openly stated that due to regulatory uncertainty, the company had been avoiding crypto trading, comparing crypto enthusiasm to a “holy war” against the US dollar. At that time, Griffin believed that the lack of clear regulation made the crypto market too risky, and he was reluctant to venture into a regulatory vacuum. During that period, many traditional financial giants were wary of the crypto space, and such tough rhetoric was quite common.

However, in 2022, Griffin began softening his stance and publicly acknowledged that he had underestimated the market. He pointed out that the total market cap of cryptocurrencies had reached approximately $2 trillion, and he admitted his previous judgment was incorrect. As client and market demand shifted, Griffin stated that Citadel Securities was seriously considering becoming a market maker in the crypto space. This shift marked Citadel Securities’ “final step,” and soon after, the firm officially entered the crypto industry.

In September 2022, Citadel Securities, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and other brokerage firms, global market makers, and venture capital firms jointly founded institutional-grade crypto exchange EDX Markets (EDXM). The CEO of EDXM was Jamil Nazarali, former head of global business development at Citadel Securities, who later became Executive Chairman at the end of 2024.

After nine months of technological development, EDXM was officially launched in the US in June 2023. It adopts a differentiated operating model: it does not custody client assets but clears transactions through independent broker-dealers. Initially, it only offers trading in four major cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others. This non-custodial, limited-asset approach meets regulatory demands for separation of trading and brokerage functions and also reflects a cautious attitude of traditional institutions like Citadel toward ‘testing the waters’ in crypto.

Preparing to enter crypto market-making

If EDX Markets was merely an important transitional attempt for Citadel Securities from opposition to participation in crypto, then in 2025, as the macro environment and regulatory outlook turn more favorable, Citadel Securities will truly make its mark in the crypto field.

In the first half of this year, Citadel Securities announced plans to become a liquidity provider for major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, and Crypto.com. This market-making giant, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, aims to replicate its market-making experience from stocks and fixed income markets into digital assets, continuously quoting buy and sell prices to provide depth and liquidity to the crypto market.

Many market observers believe one of the key factors motivating Citadel Securities to make this decision is the changing US regulatory environment and policy support. After President Donald Trump took office in 2025, he adopted a relatively friendly stance toward crypto, calling for clearer regulations and pushing legislation to establish frameworks for stablecoins and other digital assets. Against this backdrop, Citadel Securities anticipates policy benefits for the crypto industry and expects market activity to grow significantly.

However, out of prudence, Citadel Securities initially plans to keep its crypto market-making team outside the US to avoid domestic regulatory uncertainties. Once relevant trading licenses are approved, the firm will gradually expand its operations across major exchanges. In the US, Citadel Securities is already a participant in the BlackRock Bitcoin Spot ETF (IBIT), providing liquidity and market-making support for the ETF.

Accelerating Web3 deployment: stablecoins, exchanges, and RWA infrastructure

In addition to directly engaging in trading, it is noteworthy that Citadel Securities has undertaken intensive strategic investments in Web3 and crypto infrastructure in 2025, covering key sectors such as stablecoins, centralized exchanges (CEX), and asset tokenization (RWA). These investments indicate the company’s intent to strategically position itself at critical nodes to build a comprehensive crypto ecosystem:

Ripple: Stablecoins and Cross-Border Payments

In November 2025, Citadel Securities participated in a $500 million strategic funding round for blockchain payment company Ripple, valuing the company at $40 billion. Ripple is actively expanding its stablecoin and institutional custody services, launching USD stablecoin RLUSD to meet cross-border payment and settlement needs. Following the passage of the “GENIUS Stablecoin Act” in the US, the adoption of compliant stablecoins like RLUSD in institutional finance and collateral scenarios has increased. Ripple stated that this funding will be used to deepen cooperation with major financial institutions and expand product lines including custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage, and enterprise treasury management.

Kraken: Centralized Exchange

The veteran crypto exchange Kraken raised $800 million in 2025, with Citadel Securities subscribing exclusively to $200 million, giving it a post-funding valuation of $20 billion. Kraken is known for its compliance and offers spot, futures, tokenized stocks, and payment services. The company plans to accelerate its global expansion using this funding round.

Jim Esposito, President of Citadel Securities, commented: “Kraken is a key player in the next chapter of digital market innovation.” Citadel Securities will leverage its expertise in traditional markets to deepen cooperation with Kraken in liquidity provision and risk control, jointly enhancing trading efficiency and institutional services in the crypto market.

Canton Network: Privacy-Preserving Blockchain

In June 2025, Digital Asset, developer of Canton Network, announced the completion of a $135 million funding round, with investors including Citadel Securities, DRW, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas. Industry analysts see this as a significant signal of traditional finance giants betting on the RWA sector. Canton Network aims to create an open blockchain with privacy protections; this funding will accelerate the integration of various real-world assets such as bonds, money market funds, commodities, repurchase agreements, real estate mortgages, and annuities.

Although actively embracing the crypto world, Citadel Securities remains cautiously aware of regulatory boundaries. In July 2025, it submitted a letter to the US SEC’s cryptocurrency working group, explicitly opposing securities rule exemptions for tokenized stocks, arguing that such assets could divert liquidity from traditional markets and cause confusion among investors. Citadel emphasized that while supporting technological innovation, issuing assets through regulatory arbitrage is not true innovation.

Nevertheless, these large funding transactions clearly show that Citadel Securities is heavily investing in its crypto financial ecosystem. Upstream, it is betting on fiat-backed stablecoins to build the digital dollar and payment clearing infrastructure; midstream, it has stakes in well-known exchanges to control digital asset trading and liquidity; downstream, it is deploying on-chain real-world asset ecosystems to seize opportunities in future financial market transformations.

These initiatives complement its plans to develop crypto market-making in 2025. All signs indicate that Citadel Securities, once skeptical or even hostile toward cryptocurrencies, is now embracing the field comprehensively and proactively. This not only aligns with market and policy trends but also reflects the ambitions of this traditional market maker to maintain influence in liquidity provision and market mechanisms in the Web3 era.