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Virtu Sees Crypto Market-Making Opportunity, Has Little Confidence in Incumbents, CEO Says
Virtu Financial's CEO is positive on building a crypto marketplace with Citadel Securities.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:53 p.m. Published Jun 9, 2022, 4:29 p.m.
Virtu Financial (VIRT) sees a market-making opportunity in crypto as demand for the asset class grows, CEO Douglas Cifu said Wednesday during Piper Sandler’s global exchange and brokerage conference.
Cifu said he doesn’t hold a view on the crypto sector apart from wanting to build a proper ecosystem for institutions and thinks there’s a lack of confidence in the incumbent companies.
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Citadel Securities approached New York-based Virtu, a high-frequency trading and market-making firm, on creating a crypto marketplace, according to Cifu. He sees room to collaborate in creating a platform that can scale, and one in which institutions have trust and want to participate should interest in crypto grow.
“I don’t think that there’s a great deal of confidence” in a lot of the incumbents or newer players in the space, Cifu said. “Citadel is an amazing firm, and they’re a great partner.”
CoinDesk reported earlier this week that U.S. electronic trading giant Citadel Securities is working with Virtu to build a “cryptocurrency trading ecosystem,” with venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm also participating. Citadel Securities is the sister company to hedge fund giant Citadel.
Read more: Citadel Securities Is Building a Crypto Trading Marketplace With Virtu Financial: Sources
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