Dutch market maker IMC Trading has hired Alex Casimo as commercial head of its cryptocurrency business, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Casimo started in his new role this week and is based in London, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.
The hire reflects IMC’s ambition to build deeper, more strategic relationships with institutional counterparties and funds across the crypto ecosystem with the aim of becoming one of the leading client-facing companies in the industry, the person added.
Both IMC and Casimo declined to comment.
Previously, Casimo was the founder and COO of crypto market maker Portofino Technologies. He also worked at Citadel Securities.
Traditional finance firms are expanding into crypto as customer demand, regulatory clarity and market infrastructure improve, pushing banks, asset managers and trading firms deeper into digital assets.
What was once treated as a fringe market is increasingly viewed as another investable and usable asset class, with institutions building custody, trading, tokenization and ETF-related businesses to capture new revenue while avoiding being left behind in a market that is becoming more integrated with mainstream finance.
The Amsterdam-based company already has a significant presence in crypto. According to its website, the company trades $3 billion a day in average volume, supports hundreds of trading pairs and has access to 50 major exchanges globally.
The market maker uses its own capital, advanced algorithms and high-speed technology to buy and sell financial instruments across stocks, options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other asset classes. By continuously quoting prices and executing trades on exchanges worldwide, the firm provides liquidity to the markets, helping to ensure smooth trading, while generating profits from small price differences and effective risk management.
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