One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges has raised a huge stash of capital from a blue chip financial titan. The Wyoming-based Kraken secured $200 million in a strategic investment from Citadel Securities, the nearly 25-year-old market maker, a Kraken spokesperson confirmed to Fortune. The investment valued the crypto exchange at $20 billion.
“We’re excited to support Kraken’s continued growth as it helps shape the next chapter of digital innovation in markets,” Jim Esposito, president of Citadel Securities, said in a statement in a press release shared with Fortune. The market maker will work with Kraken on risk management and market structure analysis, among other efforts, according to the release.
The investment from Citadel into Kraken is one of the clearest signs yet that one of the U.S.’s largest market makers is warming to digital assets.
Meanwhile, the $800 million Kraken raised across its two recent rounds of financing further solidifies the company’s balance sheet before its planned IPO next year. The exchange plans to use the additional cash to expand into markets outside North America as well as develop new payments products, among other priorities, according to a press release shared with Fortune. Prior to the two rounds, Kraken had raised only $27 million in venture capital.
