Citadel Securities announced that venture capital firms Sequoia and Paradigm made a combined $ 1.15 billion minority investment in the market maker, bringing its valuation to $ 22 billion. The partnership with Paradigm, a Web-focused investor3, signaled Citadel Securities’ shift towards new asset classes, such as cryptocurrencies.
Sequoia, which has led the round, with investment from Sequoia Heritage, Sequoia Capital Global Equities and the Global Growth Fund, will also secure a seat on the Citadel Securities Board of Directors for Sequoia partner Alfred Lin.
We are proud to announce that Sequoia and Paradigm have made a $ 1.15 billion minority investment in our firm. https://t.co/EIbWKduS1h
– Citadel Securities (@citsecurities) January 11, 2022
According to a statement, Citadel Securities will use the funds to drive growth in new products, markets and regions. Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao said:
“As technological innovation in financial markets becomes more important, we see tremendous opportunities to meet the needs of our customers in more markets and more products. Our partnership with Sequoia and Paradigm puts us in an even stronger position.”
Historically, Ken Griffin has been a skeptic of cryptocurrencies, even claiming that cryptocurrencies were “a jihadist appeal not to believe in the dollar” just a few months ago. The hedge fund arm Citadel is clearly embracing its expansion into cryptocurrencies.
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