Crypto.com Hits $20B Value After $400M Citadel Securities Investment

Citadel Securities has invested $400 million in Crypto.com at a valuation of $20 billion, marking the startup’s first venture capital investment and the latest sign of Wall Street’s deepening interest in the digital economy.

It was announced on ThursdayThe partnership offers a market maker founded by billionaire Ken Griffin interest in Singapore’s exchange, who said the money will accelerate its growth in “all economic sectors, including tokenized securities and derivatives.” Founded in 2016, Crypto.com had never taken institutional funding before.

“The growth of the opportunity that lies ahead of us is amazing, as crypto grows more and more into a financial platform,” said Kris Marszalek, founder and CEO of Crypto.com, making the investment as pushing the industry to “a new era of innovation.”

Wall Street’s crypto land grab

The deal is the latest among traditional financial firms to have positions in crypto assets. Citadel Securities itself invest $ 200 million in the competition Kraken Last November, along with the Jane Street market maker competition. The Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, has it took it from the tree in OKX, while Nasdaq invested $50 million in Gemini.

“The integration of financial markets and digital infrastructure is an exciting development,” said Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito, pointing to its potential to improve the market.

All these companies are connected in a circle tokenized securities and derivatives-Try to move stocks, bonds and other assets blockchain rail and sell them day and night. The crypto industry has been breaking into full-fledged financial platforms from the other side, too, with Coinbase. increase stock trading for US users in February.

Politically related exchanges

Crypto.com is ranked 11th among exchanges by the number of transactions, according to CoinMarketCap priceand offers crypto, stocks and prediction markets for wholesalers. In February, that he obtained a formal permit for the charter of the US National Trust bank.

The exchange has built close ties with the Trump administration. It’s a business and investor in the Trump Media & Technology Group, he is gave millions to the political committee that supports the president, and saw his sign of cooperation with the CRO they paid $1 million in bonuses for the winners of the UFC tournament held at the White House.

Citadel’s bet comes even as crypto prices drop: Bitcoin it’s down 28% this year and the broader crypto market is reeling $2.2 trillionaccording to CoinGecko data.