Citadel Securities Chief Hints At Entering Cryptocurrency Market

Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of Citadel Securities, said on Monday he envisions the company entering the cryptocurrency market

Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of Citadel Securities, one of the world's biggest market-making firms, said on Monday he envisions the company entering the cryptocurrency market as a combination of a liquidity provider and an exchange.

"Given the institutional increase in interest in cryptocurrency, I think it's reasonable to expect to see us be more involved in the crypto space providing liquidity to institutional and potentially retail investors," Mr Griffin said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

While some market makers - firms that provide market liquidity by streaming buy and sell quotes for others to trade against - such as Virtu Financial, Jump Trading and DRW, have embraced the nascent asset class, Citadel Securities has largely stayed on the sidelines.

Mr Griffin in October called cryptocurrencies "a jihadist call that we don't believe in the dollar."