Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing exchange at $20 billion

Finance Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing exchange at $20 billion The exchange's first institutional funding round values it at $20 billion and will fund expansion into tokenized securities and derivatives. By Will Canny , AI Boost | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 16, 2026, 6:00 p.m. 1 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Citadel CEO Ken Griffin (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) Summary Show Citadel Securities invested $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing the company at $20 billion. The deal marks Crypto.com's first institutional fundraising round since its founding in 2016. Crypto.com said it will use the capital to expand into tokenized securities, derivatives and other asset classes as crypto and traditional finance converge. Crypto.com secured a $400 million strategic investment from market maker Citadel Securities in a deal that values the crypto exchange at $20 billion, marking the firm’s first institutional funding round since it was founded a decade ago, the company said in a press release Thursday. The funding comes as digital assets draw greater participation from traditional financial institutions and as tokenized assets emerge as a growing area of focus for the industry. The Singapore-based exchange said the capital will accelerate its expansion into tokenized securities, derivatives and other asset classes, as it seeks to bridge traditional and digital markets with around-the-clock trading infrastructure. The deal reflects a broader shift as traditional finance firms ramp up investments in crypto infrastructure. Since the introduction of spot bitcoin BTC $ 63,995.21 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January 2024, Wall Street firms have increasingly expanded into digital asset trading, tokenization and custody, while institutional investors continue to boost planned crypto allocations, according to EY research. "The size of the opportunity in front of us is staggering, as crypto increasingly becomes the rails for finance,” Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said in the release. Founded in 2016, Crypto.com has grown into one of the world's largest cryptocurrency platforms and has increasingly expanded into institutional products alongside its retail business. The company said it is also developing new offerings in areas including prediction markets and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Read more: Citadel abandons multi-year crypto lawsuit to focus on bankruptcy order against an ex-employee Citadel Fundraising Tokenization AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . Related Assets Bitcoin $ 63,995.21 1.57 % Latest Crypto News 1 Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments 1 hour ago 2 Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition 1 hour ago 3 Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets to expand institutional crypto business 2 hours ago 4 The Clarity Act is the most important consumer protection effort in years 2 hours ago 5 Crypto for Advisors: Strengthening defenses against AI fraud 3 hours ago 6 Crypto brokerage firm Alpaca raises $135 million for tokenized stock infrastructure 3 hours ago 7 Ledger wants AI agents to manage crypto without holding your keys 5 hours ago 8 Galaxy targets institutional stablecoin yield with new DeFi vaults 6 hours ago 9 The most popular bitcoin call option has slipped by $10,000 6 hours ago 10 Inside the high-stakes race to build an open financial system specifically for AI bots 6 hours ago Latest Research Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. By CoinDesk Research Jul 13, 2026 CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. Why it matters : CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. View Full Report More From Finance Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets to expand institutional crypto business More From Bitcoin Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets to expand institutional crypto business