Citdal Opts In On Appital (as Liquidity Bud)

Citadel Securities has said YES to becoming a liquidity provider on Appital led by Mark Badyra (in their own words - "redefining the scale of electronic liquidity"). 

JP Morgan Reportedly Curbs Financing to Market Makers

This comes in the light of market makers like Jane Street attempting to encroach on market share from banks, and poaching talent to do so.

Examples include Jane Street's expansion into Fixed Income markets, offering quotes on US Treasuries, the traditional remit of banks, as well as talent poaching, with Citadel poaching JP Morgan's head of high-touch trading.

JP Morgan has been estimated to have provided around 5% of Jane Street's total leverage, which will now decline. It remains to be seen if other banks follow suit, putting pressure on profitability of market makers.

Citadel Bought Morgan Stanley's Options Market Making Unit in July

In July, Citadel bought Morgan Stanley's equity options market making team, and took on their positions.

Morgan Stanley was the last major bank in the market making business now occupied by HFT firms. 

Jim Esposito, President of Citadel Securities, said "we are maniacally focused on being the best market maker" and also identified what Citadel is not - "we are not a bank".

Pushback from Citadel on Options Trading with Speed Bumps Proposal from IEX

Virtu (co-founded by Doug Cifu and Vincent Viola)  is declaring support for IEX launching a new US options exchange (planned for Q1 2026) which will introduce a 350ms delay on trades - a speed bump to level the playing field and prevent ultra-high-frequency players sweeping up all the profits.  Citadel, as well as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, has hit back saying it could affect price discovery and market dynamics.