Radix Trading Explained
Radix Trading is an American proprietary trading firm headquartered in Chicago. It has additional offices in New York and Amsterdam.
Background
Radix Trading was co-founded by Benjamin Blander and Michael Rauchman. Blander was previously head of the high-frequency trading group of Citadel LLC while Rauchman was the chief technology officer of GETCO.[1] [2] [3]
In August 2017, Radix Trading opened an office in Amsterdam to expand its operations into Europe. Amsterdam was selected over London for several reasons, one of which being it having regulatory advantages compared to London due to Brexit.[4]
On March 27, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and Changpeng Zhao in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming willful evasion of US law and allegedly breaching derivatives rules. In the lawsuit, three unidentified trading firms were cited as "VIP" clients of Binance although they were not accused of wrongdoing. These firms were later identified as Radix Trading, Jane Street Capital and Tower Research Capital. According to the CFTC, Binance instructed Radix Trading to access its website through a virtual private network. Blander told The Wall Street Journal, that while Radix Trading traded on Binance for several years via offshore affiliates and a prime brokerage, he believed it had not done anything wrong. This was because anything related to cryptocurrency connectivity was legally vetted beforehand. He also stated the firm was cooperating with the CFTC regarding its investigation.[5] [6] [7] On November 21, 2023, US authorities convicted Binance on multiple charges, including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and vast money laundering schemes. Binance agreed to pay more than $4.3 billion in penalties.[8]
Notes and References
- Web site: Alpher . Stephen . March 28, 2023 . Chicago-Based Radix Trading Is One of Three Quant Firms in Binance Suit: WSJ . November 14, 2023 . Yahoo Finance . en-US . November 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231114123743/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chicago-based-radix-trading-one-194428887.html . live .
- Web site: Peltz . Michael . September 13, 2010 . Man Vs. Machine: Inside the World of High-Frequency Trading . November 14, 2023 . www.cnbc.com . October 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191007185648/https://www.cnbc.com/id/39099331 . live .
- Web site: Schmerken . Ivy . June 7, 2012 . Getco's Chief Technology Officer Departs . November 14, 2023 . Wall Street & Technology . en . November 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231114130225/https://www.wallstreetandtech.com/infrastructure/getcos-chief-technology-officer-departs/d/d-id/1266343d41d.html . live .
- News: Hadfield . Will . August 3, 2017 . Trading Firms Pick Amsterdam Over London as Brexit Bites . en . Bloomberg.com . November 14, 2023 . November 22, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201122154742/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-03/trading-firms-pick-amsterdam-over-london-as-brexit-mifid-bite . live .
- News: Versprille . Allyson . March 27, 2023 . Binance and Its CEO Sued by CFTC Over US Regulatory Violations . en . Bloomberg.com . November 14, 2023 . November 17, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231117224516/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/crypto-exchange-binance-sued-by-us-cftc-for-alleged-derivatives-rule-lapses . live .
- Web site: Osipovich . Alexander . March 28, 2023 . Chicago's Radix Says It Is 'Trading Firm A' in Binance Lawsuit . November 14, 2023 . WSJ . en-US . November 14, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231114125855/https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-03-28-2023/card/chicago-s-radix-says-it-is-trading-firm-a-in-binance-lawsuit-vO56wCCHBxs9YtKQfVGV . live .
- News: Beyoud . Lydia . April 5, 2023 . Jane Street, Tower and Radix Are Unnamed 'VIPs' in Binance Case . en . Bloomberg.com . November 14, 2023 . November 17, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231117114859/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-05/jane-street-tower-and-radix-are-unnamed-vips-in-binance-case . live .
- News: Palma . Stefania . Chipolina . Scott . November 21, 2023 . Binance chief resigns as crypto exchange pays $4bn in fines . Financial Times . November 22, 2023 . November 22, 2023 . https://archive.today/20231122084628/https://www.ft.com/content/d10af983-1376-457f-9709-815e04ba59fb . live .
