Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of multinational hedge fund Citadel LLC, has stated that his foundation will only start offering cryptocurrency trading services if there is “regulatory clarity.” However, he is not keen on the asset class, considering it to threaten the strength of the US dollar.
Castle can jump on the cipher bandwagon
During a recent interview, billionaire Ken Griffin pointed out the need to impose a regulatory framework on the cryptocurrency industry. The founder of Citadel has pledged to provide digital asset services to clients due to the increasing demand, but only if the regulatory authorities implement clear regulations. However, he remains skeptical about the digital asset space.
“We don’t trade cryptocurrency because of the regulatory uncertainty. It will become a much more competitive market when there is regulatory clarity and that will be good… I would like to trade it because it would satisfy the needs of our brokerage partners who would like to have a top-tier company that sets prices.”
The American businessman praised the Securities and Exchange Commission, and especially its chairman – Gary Gensler, for their position on this issue.
“I really think President Gensler is focusing on the need for thoughtful regulation around cryptocurrencies.”
Recently, the head of the authority admitted his sympathy with the market but emphasized that he will work to strengthen the protection of investors from potential frauds and fraudulent activities. He further explained that the cryptocurrency industry should come under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While Citadel LLC’s involvement in digital assets may wait until a regulatory framework is enforced, that is not the case with many banks and hedge funds that have already jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
An example of this is the two oldest American banks. Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon announced at the beginning of the year that it would offer crypto-related services. More specifically, it will hold, issue and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its institutional clients. The State Street Corporation followed suit and enabled the trading of digital assets through its infrastructure.
In April, Brevan Howard invested $84 million in cryptocurrencies, representing 1.5% of its $5.6 billion capital.
Notably, a recent survey revealed that 98% of hedge fund CFOs expect to invest in the digital asset market in the next five years.
Why Griffin vs Crypto?
According to the billionaire, people spend a huge amount of time and energy on cryptocurrencies. Instead, they can allocate these resources into something more useful to the USA:
“I hope that all of this passion and energy that has been put into cryptocurrency is directed towards making the United States stronger.”
As a staunch supporter of the US dollar, Griffin saw that digital assets, especially bitcoin, would hurt fiat currency. He went further, saying that it was a “jihadist call” that some did not believe in dollars:
“What a crazy concept? We as a country are embracing a lot of talented young people to come up with an alternative to our reserve currency.”
Featured image courtesy of FNLondon
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