Some Fortune Crypto pricing data is provided by Binance.

Virtu chief says Citadel Securities approached it about a crypto marketplace, sees market-making opportunity

Virtu Financial (VIRT) sees a market-making opportunity in crypto as demand for the asset class grows, CEO Douglas Cifu said Wednesday during Piper Sandler’s global exchange & brokerage conference.

Cifu said he doesn’t hold a view on the crypto sector apart from wanting to build a proper ecosystem for institutions and thinks there’s a lack of confidence in the incumbent companies.

Citadel Securities approached New York-based Virtu, a high-frequency trading and market-making firm, on creating a crypto marketplace, according to Cifu. He sees room to collaborate in creating a platform that can scale, and one in which institutions have trust and want to participate should interest in crypto grow.

“I don’t think that there’s a great deal of confidence” in a lot of the incumbents or newer players in the space, Cifu said. “Citadel is an amazing firm and they’re a great partner.”

CoinDesk reported earlier this week that U.S. electronic trading giant Citadel Securities is working with Virtu to build a “cryptocurrency trading ecosystem,” as well as with venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm. Citadel Securities is the sister company to hedge fund giant Citadel.

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.