Citadel Securities has become the first institutional investor in Crypto.com through a strategic investment of $400 million.
Jim Esposito
This marks the first institutional funding round for Crypto.com and comes 10 years after its launch, and has increased the value of the business to $20 billion.
Speaking about the motivations behind the investment, Jim Esposito, president, Citadel Securities, affirmed that the convergence of traditional financial markets and digital asset infrastructure is an “exciting evolution with the potential to further improve market efficiency”.
He added: “Crypto.com has built a foundation to support the continued institutionalisation of the digital asset market, and we are pleased to collaborate with the Crypto.com team as we help create the capital markets of the future.”
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Citadel Securities’ strategic investment comes off the back of increased attention on digital assets across the institutional landscape. As appetite grows, many firms are considering how best to make their mark in the area.
The Crypto.com funding is specifically expected to accelerate the business’ expansion into all asset classes, confirmed Citadel.
This includes tokenised securities and derivatives, aiming to create a “more efficient” 24/7 financial sphere.
Read more: Digital assets and traditional finance: Can two parallel lanes converge?
Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive, Crypto.com, said: “The size of the opportunity in front of us is staggering, as crypto increasingly becomes the rails for finance. Having built the right regulatory and tech infrastructure over the last decade, Crypto.com is now perfectly positioned to capture this new wave of growth across all asset classes.”