Citadel Securities hired someone to grow their cryptocurrency business, of all things
Financial services as an industry has been investing heavily into AI. But the previous (technological) flavor of the day - cryptocurrency - has not faded away completely. In fact, some firms are now investing in their capabilities here - including electronic market making firm Citadel Securities (CitSec).
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Willis Croft joined CitSec last month as the market maker’s head of business development for digital assets, based in London. He joined the firm from Wintermute, a crypto-specialized algorithmic trading firm based in London, where he was a director in its business development & partnerships team. Before that, Croft was a VP at Genesis, the cryptocurrency exchange, until it shut its doors in 2023.
The embracing of digital assets by CitSec is rather incredible, in the grand scheme of things. Just five years ago, the firm’s founder, Ken Griffin, called cryptocurrency a “jihadist’s call” against the dollar. “I wish all this passion and energy that went into crypto was directed toward making the United States stronger,” Griffin told Bloomberg. Citadel Securities did not respond to a request for comment.
The firm has rather changed its tune since its founder’s comments. At the start of 2025, it planned to become a liquidity provider to cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinbase and Binance, among others. Since then, it began offering liquidity to Kraken, at the very least, which it also invested $200m into in November last year.
CitSec’s job listings include one for a systematic crypto trader, and it refers to its digital assets team as “fast-growing.” The listing asks for “deep familiarity with centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.” If only Mr. Griffin could see it now.
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