Jane Street Group and Jump Crypto — two of the world’s top market-making firms — are pulling back from trading digital assets in the U.S. as regulators crack down on the industry, Bloomberg News reported. Jane Street is going even further by scaling back its crypto ambitions globally, because regulatory uncertainty has made it difficult for the firm to operate the business in a way that meets internal standards. Jump Crypto, the digital-assets unit of Jump Trading, is pulling back from the U.S. market for the same reason, although it’s expanding internationally. Both firms are still making markets, though on a smaller scale, and not abandoning crypto entirely. Scrutiny of the digital-asset industry has intensified following the collapse of high-profile firms and projects, including FTX, the crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, and TerraUSD stablecoin. Regulatory crackdowns have focused on multiple fronts, including trading platforms, stablecoin issuers and brokers. In one example, Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange, received a warning earlier this year from the Securities and Exchange Commission about a potential enforcement action. Jane Street and Jump Trading were caught up in some of the turmoil, and were among trading firms questioned by U.S. prosecutors in a probe of the failed TerraUSD stablecoin project. Jump Crypto had been a major backer of the TerraUSD project since 2019. No one has been accused of wrongdoing, and inquiries don’t necessarily mean that charges will be brought.
