Belvedere Trading, LLC

What Belvedere Trading, LLC does

Belvedere Trading, LLC is a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm founded in March 2002 that operates as a market maker in equity index and commodity derivatives, primarily options. The firm trades with its own capital across options, indices, commodities, and equities markets, generating revenue from bid-ask spreads and the capture of short-term market inefficiencies. Belvedere has no traditional external customers; its counterparties are the exchanges and market participants on the other side of its trades. As of the most recent reporting, the firm employs approximately 300 people across offices in Chicago (headquarters at 10 S Riverside Plaza), Boulder, New York, and Singapore.

The firm's core technology is a proprietary options valuation and trading model that has been iteratively built and re-engineered since 2002, evolving from Excel workbooks and handheld computer implementations into a full enterprise software system developed in-house in C#, C++, and Python. Belvedere's electronic trading infrastructure supports low-latency market making operations, and the firm operates a proprietary risk management system described as ultramodern and central to capitalizing on market inefficiencies. The firm also runs Belvedere Trading University (BTU), an internal training program covering trading theory, software development, systems training, and operational processes, and offers a Backed Trading program that provides external experienced traders and trading groups with access to Belvedere's capital, proprietary technology, infrastructure, and execution.

Belvedere's business model is fundamentally capital-intensive: revenue is a function of capital deployed, trading volumes, and market conditions rather than external customer billing. The firm has remained privately held and employee-owned since founding, with no external venture capital or institutional funding rounds disclosed. Leadership is anchored by Founder Tom Hutchinson, President Yury Pensky, and CEO Yezdaan Baber, supported by department heads across business, intel operations, trading, and technology. In January 2026, Belvedere joined Akuna Capital, Optiver, and Virtu Financial as a co-investor and liquidity provider in Optimal Market Technologies, a new options intermediary that purchases US retail options order flow — a strategic move that opens a new distribution channel and positions the consortium to challenge Citadel Securities' dominance in retail options market making.

Name

Belvedere Trading, LLC

Legal name

Belvedere Trading, LLC

Website

https://belvederetrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Belvedere Trading is a proprietary trading firm and options market maker, founded in 2002 in Chicago. It trades with its own capital across four global offices, employs ~300 people, and offers a Backed Trading program for external trading groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Proprietary Trading & Market Making

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Options (Vanilla) — Venues, Market Makers & Protocols (FSADAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Crypto Derivatives Exchanges (Futures, Options & Perpetuals) (FSADAAAD)

Keywords

• Options market making
• Proprietary trading
• Equity derivatives
• Algorithmic trading
• Financial liquidity provision

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Proprietary Trading: Trading with the firm's own capital as market makers in options, earning from bid-ask spreads and market inefficiencies
2. Investment in Optimal Market Technologies: Joint investment with Akuna Capital, Optiver, and Virtu Financial in a new options intermediary to purchase US options order flow from retail brokers, competing with Citadel Securities

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Belvedere Trading is a proprietary trading firm that operates as a market maker in equity index and commodity options markets, trading with the firm's own capital to provide liquidity and earn from bid-ask spreads and market inefficiencies. The firm also offers a "Backed Trading" program that provides external experienced traders and trading groups with access to its capital, proprietary technology, infrastructure, and risk management systems.

Product overview

Belvedere Trading operates as a proprietary trading firm offering a unified proprietary trading platform as its core product, augmented by Belvedere Trading University (BTU) for internal training and Backed Trading services for external trading groups. The platform supports options market making across indices, commodities, and equities, with integrated proprietary software, risk management, and trading infrastructure developed in-house using C#/C++/Python technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Proprietary Trading Platform
• Backed Trading

Quantifiable outcome

• Established in 2002 and grew to become elite proprietary trading firm in Chicago
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Optimal Market TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Belvedere Trading, along with Akuna Capital, Optiver, and Virtu Financial, invested in Optimal Market Technologies, a new options intermediary that purchases US options order flow from retail brokers. The consortium is positioned to challenge Citadel Securities' dominance in the lucrative retail options market segment. The four firms serve as leading liquidity providers for the new entity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wolverine Trading: Chicago-based proprietary trading firm with significant options market making and execution services. Direct peer with overlapping geographic footprint and similar mid-sized market making model.
• Virtu Financial: Publicly traded global market maker and liquidity provider across equities, options, and other asset classes. Direct peer and consortium partner in Optimal Market Technologies, with similar market making business model.
• Optiver: Global proprietary trading firm and leading options market maker with significant Chicago presence. Direct peer and consortium partner with Belvedere in Optimal Market Technologies, competing in equity index and commodity derivatives market making.
• IMC Financial Markets: Global proprietary trading firm with strong options market making franchise, particularly in index options. Direct peer with similar technology-driven approach and presence in U.S. options markets.
• Susquehanna International Group (SIG): Global quantitative trading firm with substantial options market making operations. Direct peer in proprietary options trading with similar talent-driven culture and proprietary technology model.
• Hudson River Trading (HRT): Quantitative proprietary trading firm with substantial options market making and algorithmic trading operations. Direct peer using proprietary technology and quantitative models for market making.
• Akuna Capital: Chicago-based proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making. Akuna is a direct competitor and co-investor alongside Belvedere in Optimal Market Technologies, making it the closest comparable peer in size, focus, and strategy.
• DRW Trading: Chicago-headquartered proprietary trading firm with diversified market making and liquidity provision across multiple asset classes. Direct peer with similar cultural and operational profile.

Broad incumbents

• Jane Street: Larger global proprietary trading firm with significant options and ETF market making operations. Broader incumbent competing in similar asset classes with substantially greater scale and capital base.
• Citadel Securities: Dominant institutional and retail market maker across multiple asset classes including options. As the explicit target of the Optimal Market Technologies consortium Belvedere joined, Citadel Securities is the most consequential competitor in Belvedere's strategic landscape.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/teambelvedere
• Facebookfacebook.com/belvedere-trading-llc-176367689083897
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/belvedere-trading-llc
• Instagraminstagram.com/belvedere_trading

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments5 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Belvedere Trading, LLC