Founder and CEO of global market maker Citadel Securities Ken Griffin says his firm would participate in the cryptocurrency markets if it weren’t for regulatory uncertainty.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Griffin says Citadel Securities has stayed out of trading crypto due to the risks associated with operating within an unregulated industry.
“We don’t trade crypto because of the regulatory uncertainty.”
Griffin says Citadel Securities’ reputation as a traditional market maker would place it at an advantage in the crypto markets if it weren’t for the “regulatory void” that exists across the crypto space.
“I would trade it because it would meet the needs of our online brokerage partners who want to have a tier-one firm making prices… We provide a great service every day and every minute of every day and they want us to provide pricing in crypto.
I just don’t want to take on the regulatory risk in this regulatory void that some of my contemporaries are willing to take on.”
The Citadel Securities CEO says that he agrees with the efforts of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Gary Gensler to regulate cryptocurrencies.
According to Griffin, regulations will transform the cryptocurrency market into a smaller but more competitive space.
“I really believe that Chairperson Gensler is spot on, on the need to have thoughtful regulation around cryptocurrency. I actually think that doing so will make it a smaller market because it will become a far more competitive market when there’s regulatory clarity.
And that will be good. A smaller market, less people involved who are frankly just trying to make a quick buck. And whatever the virtues are of that product, and I think those are pretty nebulous, will become very different in a world of competitive exchanges and competitive pricing by tier-one market makers willing to put their best foot forward.”
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