Citadel Securities invests $400M in Crypto.com at $20B valuation, its first institutional funding. The exchange plans to expand into tokenized securities and derivatives.
Citadel Securities has invested $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing the exchange at $20 billion in its first institutional funding round. Crypto.com announced the deal on July 16.
The company plans to use the capital to expand into tokenized securities and derivatives, Chief Executive Kris Marszalek said. The exchange aims to build a broader financial platform that operates around the clock, offering products linked to both traditional and digital markets.
Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito said the combination of traditional markets and digital asset infrastructure could improve market efficiency. He added that Crypto.com had built a platform capable of supporting greater institutional participation in digital assets.
The investment gives Crypto.com a $20 billion valuation. The companies did not disclose the size of Citadel Securities' stake or other terms.
Crypto.com's existing regulatory and technology systems will support its planned expansion into additional financial products, the company said. It has identified prediction markets and tokenized real-world assets as areas for further development.
Citadel Securities already has links to several digital asset projects. The firm handles about 35% of U.S.-listed retail trading volume, it says. Its affiliates participated in Ripple's $500 million strategic funding round in November 2025, which valued Ripple at $40 billion. The company also backed Digital Asset Holdings in June, a $355 million round for the blockchain infrastructure firm behind Canton Network.
Institutional interest in tokenized assets has grown. Firms including BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Nasdaq have been building infrastructure for tokenized finance, according to crypto market analysis.
Marszalek said the company expects digital assets to play a larger role in financial markets. 'Crypto increasingly becomes the rails for finance,' he said.
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