Citadel Securities invests $400M in Crypto.com at $20B

Citadel Securities has invested $400 million in Crypto.com at a $20 billion valuation, the companies said. The capital represents Crypto.com’s first institutional funding round.

Citadel Securities, a market maker, purchased the stake to support Crypto.com’s expansion beyond spot crypto trading into tokenized securities and derivatives and to help link digital-asset trading with traditional markets.

Kris Marszalek, chief executive of Crypto.com, called the opportunity “staggering” and said the company has built regulatory and technical infrastructure over the past decade to pursue growth across multiple asset classes.

Jim Esposito, president of Citadel Securities, described the convergence of traditional financial markets and digital-asset infrastructure as an evolution that could improve market efficiency.

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com reports millions of users worldwide. The firm recently received conditional approval from U.S. regulators for a national trust bank charter, a regulatory milestone it has cited as part of plans to offer a wider range of regulated financial products.

The $400 million will fund product development and upgrades to regulatory and technology systems needed to offer tokenized securities and derivatives. Tokenized securities are digital representations of traditional assets that can be traded and settled on blockchain-based systems. Derivatives would give professional and retail clients tools to track or hedge exposure to crypto and other tokenized assets.

Citadel Securities’ investment is the first reported outside institutional capital for Crypto.com. The firms said the deal reflects growing interest from established financial companies in connecting digital-asset infrastructure with conventional market structures to improve liquidity and execution across trading venues.