Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin told Bloomberg that he has big plans for crypto despite the continued skepticism he feels toward digital assets.
Earlier this year, Citadel announced a $1.15 billion minority investment by Sequoia and Paradigm. They both have strong crypto ambitions.
Last month, Sequoia announced the launch of its Sequoia Crypto Fund, which will invest in cryptocurrencies traded on third-party exchanges. Similarly, Paradigm launched a $2.5 billion fund to help crypto startups in Q4 2021.
Commenting on the investment, Griffin hinted at Citadel’s own crypto ambitions by saying that having them on board will bring expertise to guide the company into the digital future.
“Having their experience, helping us think about positioning Citadel Securities for the next two or three decades, has been a really powerful opportunity that we seized.”
But where does Griffin see the Citadel’s role in this digital future?
Who is Citadel?
Citadel LLC is a US hedge fund and financial services provider headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
The company was founded by Griffin in 1990 and operates two main businesses; Citadel, the hedge fund, an alternative investment company that invests on behalf of institutional buyers. And Citadel Securities, which deals with market making operations.
According to the Pensions & Investments website, as of June 30, 2021, Citadel ranks as the 9th largest hedge fund with assets under management of $37.6 billion.
Source: pionline.com
Griffin is a thirty-year stock market veteran who has built a reputation for winning calls. So much so that his picks have earned him a personal fortune estimated at $20 billion. Regardless, he admits that he doesn’t always get it right, particularly his earlier stance on cryptocurrencies.
“And I’ll be clear, I’ve been in the naysayers’ camp for that period of time. But today’s crypto market has a market cap of around $2 trillion in round numbers, which tells you I haven’t been correct on this call.”
Where does Griffin see Citadel’s role in the cryptocurrency sector?
Regardless, he still has his doubts about cryptocurrencies even though hundreds of millions of users disagree with him.
To that end, Griffin sees an opportunity in helping institutions and investors with “portfolio allocation.” Revealing more, he says that he and his team have been “seriously considering” creating crypto markets.
Market makers provide buying and selling solutions to investors, so they are responsible for maintaining liquidity.
Griffin completes by saying that Citadel will begin cryptocurrency market-making operations in the coming months.
“It is fair to assume that in the coming months you will see us participating in the creation of markets in cryptocurrencies.”
Posted In: USA, Adoption
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This post Another hedge fund has crypto rubber stamps, but who is Citadel?
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