Kenneth Griffin said his company plans to start working with cryptocurrencies in the coming months.
“I’ll be honest: I’ve been in the skeptic camp all this time. But today the total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market reaches about $2 trillion, and that shows that I was wrong,” said Citadel’s CEO.
And clarified that digital currencies have become “one of the most remarkable products in the financial industry in the last 15 years.”
Griffin admitted that he still has his share of skepticism about cryptocurrencies, but there are already millions of people around the world who disagree. Citadel, the CEO assured, is trying to help institutions and private investors with asset allocation in portfolios, so it’s time to think seriously about connecting cryptocurrencies in the coming months.
As recently as last fall, Kenneth Griffin said at a meeting of the Economic Club of Chicago that uncertainty in cryptocurrency regulation prevents market makers from becoming participants in the cryptocurrency space. Griffin also criticized bitcoin for its low transaction speeds and possible negative impact on the environment.
Last year, Oaktree Capital co-founder Howard Marks, who had previously spoken disparagingly about bitcoin, also became more friendly toward cryptocurrencies.