Early this morning, Bloomberg reported that Citadel Securities, one of the world’s largest market makers, plans to enter the cryptocurrency market and is seeking to join the market maker lists of multiple exchanges. The news quickly sparked widespread attention and discussion. As a top player in the global financial markets, how will Citadel Securities’ entry reshape the crypto market landscape? What opportunities and challenges will it bring?

This article will explore the significance and potential impact of Citadel Securities entering the crypto market-making sector through a ten-question, ten-answer format.

Q1. Who is Citadel Securities?

Citadel is currently one of the most influential players in the global financial markets. It started as a small hedge fund and, after years of development, has grown into one of the most profitable investment firms in financial history.

Citadel consists of Citadel LLC and Citadel Securities. Citadel Securities is a global market maker, while Citadel LLC is a multinational hedge fund and financial services company.

As a key participant in the U.S. stock market, Citadel Securities has become the world’s largest buyer and seller of equities, accounting for nearly a quarter of U.S. stock market trading volume. It engages in transactions involving more than 11,000 U.S.-listed securities and over 16,000 over-the-counter securities. In August 2024, its stock trading volume even surpassed that of the New York Stock Exchange.

On April 9, 2024, Citadel Securities was included in the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List with a corporate valuation of 155 billion RMB, ranking 13th and solidifying its status as a major force in the global fintech sector.

Q2. What is the background of the Citadel Securities team?

Citadel Securities was founded by legendary investor Ken Griffin and is currently led by CEO Peng Zhao. Born in Beijing, Peng Zhao is regarded as one of the top Chinese figures on Wall Street. He entered Peking University’s mathematics department at the age of 14 and later earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. After joining Citadel Securities, he rose from analyst to partner, general manager, and eventually CEO in less than 10 years.

Citadel Securities has a highly specialized and international team, with approximately 1,600 employees worldwide. About 45% of its members hold advanced degrees, and the company employs around 260 PhD researchers specializing in over 40 disciplines, including applied mathematics, computer engineering, bioinformatics, and geophysics. The team represents around 80 different nationalities, reflecting Citadel Securities’ global reach and diverse cultural background.

Q3. What was Citadel Securities’ past stance on cryptocurrency?

In the past, due to regulatory uncertainty in the U.S., Citadel Securities maintained a cautious approach toward digital assets and avoided involvement in retail-facing crypto platforms.

Founder Ken Griffin was a Bitcoin skeptic. In 2022, before the Terra collapse, Griffin stated that Citadel “might enter the crypto industry in the coming months.” However, the Terra incident and subsequent market crash likely shook his confidence in the crypto market, leading Citadel to refrain from taking action.

In recent months, Griffin has admitted to missing early opportunities in the crypto market. At the 2025 UBS Financial Conference, he revealed that the company was considering entering the crypto market as a market maker.

Q4.Why is Citadel Securities so powerful?

The key to Citadel Securities’ success lies in its control over order flow and its deep data analytics capabilities. The firm processes up to $450 billion in trading information daily and makes decisions through complex predictive analysis and valuation models.

Citadel Securities can accurately assess the fair value of stocks and options under different market conditions. According to insiders, the company invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in hard technology and quantitative research.

Q5. What are some of Citadel Securities’ most well-known actions?

One of the company’s most notable events was the GameStop short squeeze in 2021. Retail investors banded together to buy GameStop stock, successfully pressuring hedge funds that had shorted it, leading to massive losses and the eventual collapse of Melvin Capital.

Investigations revealed that a significant portion of Robinhood’s order flow during this period was routed to Citadel Securities. Meanwhile, Citadel LLC’s fund was a partner of Melvin Capital and injected $2 billion into it during the crisis. This dual role as both a market maker and an investor sparked controversy in the market.

During the most intense days of the short squeeze, Citadel Securities’ daily trading volume reached 7.4 billion shares, surpassing the industry’s average daily trading volume in 2019.

Q6. What does Citadel Securities’ entry mean for the crypto market?

The community is divided on Citadel Securities entering the crypto market—some see it as a positive development, while others view it as a negative.

Positive aspects:

• Increased market liquidity: As a leading global market maker, Citadel Securities’ entry can enhance liquidity in the crypto market.
• Attracting more investors: Citadel’s participation, as a well-known financial institution, could attract more investors, especially institutional ones, driving further capital inflows.
• Regulation and compliance: Citadel operates under strict compliance and regulatory frameworks in traditional markets. Its entry may accelerate the integration of crypto markets with traditional financial regulations, potentially leading to stricter KYC/AML requirements for exchanges and projects.

Negative aspects:

• Potential market manipulation: Citadel Securities has been criticized for its short-selling operations in traditional markets. Community members worry that, as a major market maker, its strong market influence could increase the risk of manipulation in crypto markets.
• Market transparency concerns: Some in the community argue that Citadel’s short positions are not fully disclosed—its 13F filings only reveal long holdings, while its market-making short positions are part of daily operations rather than long-term bets.
• Increased market concentration: Citadel Securities’ entry could lead to further market concentration among a few large institutions. While this might bring more efficiency and structure, it could also weaken competition from smaller players.

Q7. What strategy is Citadel Securities adopting in the crypto market?

Citadel Securities plans to join the market-making programs of several major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase Global Inc., Binance Holdings, and Crypto.com. Once approved by these exchanges, the firm intends to first establish a market-making team outside the United States.

The extent of its expansion and interest in the crypto market will likely depend on upcoming regulatory developments in the next few months.

Q8. What is Citadel’s current involvement in the crypto market?

In 2023, Citadel Securities quietly entered the crypto market through EDX Markets, a crypto exchange launched in partnership with Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments.

EDX Markets operates using a traditional market structure for crypto trading, offering institutional investors familiar execution and settlement models.

Q9. How will Citadel Securities’ entry reshape the crypto market?

Retail investors will face greater challenges in profiting, as grassroots trading strategies may be further marginalized. Opportunities and resources will become more concentrated among large institutions and high-net-worth investors, making it significantly harder for retail traders to compete in terms of information, technology, and capital.

Small and mid-sized market makers will experience increased pressure. Citadel Securities’ vast capital reserves, advanced algorithmic trading systems, and global resource network will likely allow it to dominate liquidity provision and trade execution efficiency. Many smaller market makers may be forced out due to their inability to compete.

Additionally, Citadel Securities’ entry could lead to a reallocation of institutional capital outside of market-making firms.

Q10. Why did Citadel Securities enter the crypto market later than its competitors?

Unlike competitors such as Jane Street and Jump Crypto, Citadel Securities had previously kept its distance from crypto assets. However, with increased regulatory pressure in 2023, firms like Jane Street and Jump began scaling back their U.S. crypto operations, creating a market gap for Citadel Securities to fill.

Citadel’s delay in entering the crypto market was likely due to concerns over market structure and regulatory risks. Its recent expansion into crypto reflects its adaptation to the evolving U.S. regulatory landscape.

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