Cryptocurrency
Crypto trading spreads have plunged 90%, pushing desks to rethink their strategies
As reported by The Block, “An active year for digital asset market participants is coming to an end – and new data underpins the degree of change that has occurred in that span of time. “Over the course of 2019, new players emerged and old ones crumbled, and readers of The Block will recall the […]
As reported by The Block, “An active year for digital asset market participants is coming to an end – and new data underpins the degree of change that has occurred in that span of time.
“Over the course of 2019, new players emerged and old ones crumbled, and readers of The Block will recall the fall of Circle Trade, Circle’s once-mighty cryptocurrency trading operation.
“In 2018, the desk facilitated the trading of more than $24 billion worth of digital assets. As one source put it, the firm was in an excellent position: everyone was connected, and it also had some of the best-known talent. Indeed, prior to Circle selling the desk to Kraken earlier this month, the writing was on the wall for its demise.
“Daniel Matuszewski, the former head of the unit, resigned in August to start his own firm with Bobby Cho, who previously led DRW’s Cumberland division. Matuszewski previously was a vol-arb trader for a Boston-area hedge fund. Beatrice O’Carroll, whose career in sales and relationship management included time at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, left the firm over the summer. In November, the desk had shrunk to just two traders including Nick Gustafson.
“While several ex-employees say Circle Trade’s decline was the result of mismanagement, it’s hard not to be somewhat sympathetic given the macro backdrop…”