Citadel Securities opens Amsterdam options trading office
Market maker is the latest to establish presence in Dutch capital as it expands European push for equity derivatives hub
Citadel Securities is opening an Amsterdam office, becoming the latest trading firm to establish a presence in the Dutch capital as it strengthens its position as a European hub for options trading.
The new office for CitSec, founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, joins other market makers in the city including Jane Street, Optiver and IMC.
Amsterdam has reached critical mass for trading firms, making it easier to source talent for future roles. The city is home to the world’s oldest stock exchange, and its options exchange, created in 1978, was one of the first in Europe to offer such contracts.
Dave Silber, CitSec’s head of institutional equity derivatives, said: “Amsterdam’s position as a leading destination for equity derivatives and its pool of technical and trading talent makes it a natural place for us to expand our European footprint.”
Miami-based CitSec said it would have five employees in the Amsterdam office. Following Britain’s exit from the EU, CitSec in 2017 opened an office in Dublin, which has 16 employees, and then a Paris office in 2021 which now has a staff of 21, its largest EU presence. The firm has about 300 people in London.
CitSec said the new Amsterdam office would have trading, technology and quantitative research teams “to support the firm’s growing equity options business and enhance liquidity in European-listed derivatives markets”.
Companies such as CitSec were early adopters of the digitalisation of financial markets, building technology that processes orders worth hundreds of billions of dollars every day, often from retail investors.
Options trading has exploded in recent years as more retail traders make wagers on stock moves. Retail investors especially like options for the ability to make large bets with smaller amounts of money than they would need to buy shares of a company.
Trading firms such as CitSec, Jane Street and Hudson River Trading have notched record earnings this year as the AI boom and the Iran war have brought volatility to financial markets.
CitSec brought in a record $4.3bn in trading revenue in the first three months of 2026 and $1.9bn in net income, the FT has reported.