drw trading group

What drw trading group does

DRW Trading Group is a diversified proprietary trading firm founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, headquartered in Chicago. The firm deploys proprietary technology and trading platforms to provide liquidity across asset classes including equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, interest rate products, and crypto assets. It operates specialized subsidiaries including Cumberland (crypto trading since 2014), DRW Venture Capital, DRW NX (low-latency network infrastructure), Convexity Properties (real estate since 2009), and RGM Advisors (quantitative trading, acquired 2017). DRW serves global institutional counterparties—private banks, pension funds, hedge funds, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, national banks, and insurance companies—exclusively through direct institutional relationships, with no outside investors and no third-party funds under management.

DRW's core technology comprises proprietary ultra-low-latency trading platforms designed by cross-functional teams of software, hardware, networking, and trading specialists. The firm maintains an internal ETF pricing engine and operates DRW NX, which it describes as one of the world's most sophisticated low-latency networks. DRW is an authorized participant for over 2,000 ETFs globally, traded $824 billion USD in ETFs in 2020, and employs 40 dedicated ETF professionals across London/Amsterdam and Singapore time zones. The subsidiary Cumberland operates one of the world's largest bitcoin trading desks. The firm generates revenue through proprietary trading and liquidity provision—capturing bid-offer spreads, primary market creation/redemption fees, and principal risk-taking—across this diversified portfolio of asset classes.

Name

drw trading group

Legal name

DRW Holdings, LLC

Website

https://drwtrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

DRW Trading Group is a Chicago-headquartered diversified proprietary trading firm founded in 1992, providing liquidity across equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, and crypto to global institutional counterparties via proprietary ultra-low-latency technology and subsidiaries including Cumberland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Proprietary Trading and Market Making

NAICS

Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Perpetual Futures (Perps) Venues & Protocols (FSADAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regulatory Reporting & Compliance Automation (FinCEN/CTR/SAR, EMIR/MiFID, etc.) (FSAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Proprietary trading
• ETF liquidity provision
• Crypto asset trading
• Market making services
• Commodities derivatives trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Proprietary Trading: DRW generates revenue primarily through proprietary trading across multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, interest rate products, and crypto. The firm takes risk where it sees opportunity and provides liquidity simultaneously across traditional and digital markets worldwide.
2. Market Making / Liquidity Provision: DRW acts as an independent ETF liquidity provider and authorized participant (AP), creating and redeeming ETFs directly with issuers. Revenue is generated through bid-offer spreads on ETF trades and primary market creations/redemptions. In 2020, DRW traded $824 billion USD in ETFs across equities, fixed income, commodities, and crypto assets on European, American, and APAC exchanges.
3. Venture Capital Investments: DRW's VC arm invests in financial and enterprise technology companies. Returns flow back to the parent firm.
4. Real Estate Investment: Convexity Properties, DRW's fully integrated real estate investment arm, focuses on giving value-add properties a new purpose. Revenue generated through property appreciation and rental income.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

DRW is a diversified proprietary trading firm that deploys its own capital to provide liquidity and make markets across multiple asset classes, including equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, interest rate products, and crypto assets. The firm operates specialized trading desks (ETF market making, precious metals, coffee, fixed income options, real-time equities) supported by an internally developed ultra-low-latency trading platform and the DRW NX connectivity network, and serves institutional counterparties such as private banks, pension funds, hedge funds, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, and ETF issuers through direct sales relationships.

Product overview

DRW Trading Group is a diversified trading firm operating across traditional and cutting-edge markets. The core offerings include proprietary trading across multiple asset classes (equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, crypto assets) through specialized trading desks. The product portfolio consists of Cumberland (crypto asset trading since 2014), DRW Venture Capital (enterprise technology investments), DRW NX (network infrastructure), and Convexity Properties (real estate investment). ETF trading represents a significant offering with AP status for over 2,000 ETFs globally. The firm operates proprietary trading platforms with low-latency execution capabilities supporting trading across global exchanges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cumberland: Crypto asset trading subsidiary providing liquidity in digital assets since 2014
• DRW Venture Capital
• DRW NX
• Convexity Properties
• Climate Vault

Products and services

• DRW ETF Trading Full-service global ETF liquidity provision and authorized participant (AP) services. DRW trades ETFs across equities, fixed income, commodities, and crypto assets on European, American, and APAC exchanges, supporting primary market creations and redemptions with issuers. Traded $824 billion USD in ETFs in 2020.
• Cumberland (Crypto Asset Trading) Institutional crypto asset trading subsidiary providing liquidity in digital assets since 2014, including bilateral options hedging and access to innovative crypto opportunities for crypto investors and counterparties.
• DRW Precious Metals Trading Trading desk covering precious metals globally including derivatives, physical metals, ETFs, and tokenized gold products.
• DRW Coffee Trading Commodity trading desk focusing on Arabica and Robusta coffee futures, options, and spreads on ICE exchanges in the US and EU.
• DRW Fixed Income Options
• DRW Real-Time Equity Trading
• DRW Venture Capital
• DRW NX Network Infrastructure
• Convexity Properties (Real Estate) Fully integrated real estate investment arm focused on giving value-add properties a new purpose across the United States.

Quantifiable outcome

• $824 billion USD traded in ETFs in 2020
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• University of ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026DRW supports a new University of Chicago program for training the next generation of quantitative developers, aligning with the firm's university recruiting focus and commitment to developing talent in quantitative finance and technology.
• Mila (Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRW partners with Mila, a Montreal-based AI research institute with a mission to be a global pole for scientific advances that inspires innovation and the development of artificial intelligence for the benefit of all. DRW's Montreal office collaborates with Mila, applying industry knowledge to important issues in the AI ecosystem.
• Climate VaultcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Wilson co-founded Climate Vault, a non-profit that helps institutions achieve climate neutrality through compliance market credits. This initiative led to DRW becoming the first carbon-neutral global trading firm in 2020. Climate Vault enables DRW to offset carbon emissions via compliance market credits.
• Société GénéraleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRW and Société Générale collaborated to execute an intraday repo transaction on Broadridge's DLR blockchain platform, showcasing cross-institutional blockchain trading capabilities.
• Noble Network of Charter SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRW supports the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago, a non-profit providing education and opportunity to students across the city. DRW helped open a new school in an under-served neighborhood and supports DRW College Prep. The partnership aligns with DRW's values of data-driven decision making and fostering entrepreneurship.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Citadel Securities: Chicago-headquartered market maker and prop trading firm operating across multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income, commodities, ETFs, and crypto. Closest comparable to DRW in scale, multi-asset approach, and proprietary technology investment.
• Jump Trading: Chicago-based quantitative and high-frequency trading firm with significant crypto operations and traditional market making. Closely comparable to DRW's technology-driven, multi-asset prop trading approach with proprietary infrastructure emphasis.
• Flow Traders: Dutch-based principal trading firm specializing in ETF market making across global exchanges. Particularly close comparable to DRW's ETF business given DRW hired Flow Traders' former Global Head of ETF Sales Trading (Bernardus Roelofs) to lead DRW's ETF institutional sales.
• Optiver: Global market maker headquartered in Amsterdam with operations across equities, derivatives, ETFs, and fixed income. Comparable to DRW in its institutional liquidity provision model and multi-asset, technology-driven trading approach.
• Wintermute: Leading global crypto-native market maker and liquidity provider across centralized and decentralized venues. Most direct comparable to DRW's Cumberland subsidiary in crypto asset trading, providing institutional-grade liquidity and derivatives capabilities.
• Jane Street: Diversified proprietary trading firm with strong ETF market-making presence and operations across equities, fixed income, commodities, and crypto. Similar business model and asset class breadth to DRW, with comparable institutional counterparty focus.
• Hudson River Trading: Quantitative proprietary trading firm operating globally across multiple asset classes with a technology-first approach. Comparable to DRW in its emphasis on proprietary systems, low-latency execution, and institutional counterparty relationships.
• Virtu Financial: Publicly traded market making firm providing liquidity across global equities, ETFs, fixed income, and currencies. Direct comparable to DRW's market making business, particularly in ETF liquidity provision where DRW is an AP for 2,000+ ETFs.
• Susquehanna International Group: Diversified global trading firm with proprietary trading across equities, options, ETFs, fixed income, and crypto. Comparable to DRW's multi-asset approach, institutional counterparty focus, and significant options/derivatives expertise.
• IMC Financial Markets: Amsterdam-based global market maker providing liquidity across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, ETFs, and crypto. Direct comparable to DRW's institutional liquidity provision business with similar geographic and asset class breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DRWTrading
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/drwtradinggroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/103804202947
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drw
• Instagraminstagram.com/drw_trading

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about drw trading group