Citadel Securities has hired Mukilan Ashok, the former interim CTO of Polymarket US and previously a senior engineering lead at Citadel, in a move that underscores rising institutional interest in prediction markets.
Ashok spent around four months as interim CTO at Polymarket following the departure of Liam Kovatch, before returning to Citadel’s ecosystem in a role focused on options market making. His move comes as Polymarket appoints a permanent CTO, Kurush Dubash, who joined via the acquisition of his Y Combinator-backed startup Dome, which built APIs for analysing prediction market data.
The prediction markets sector has attracted increasing attention from fintech firms and trading venues, with platforms including Robinhood, Crypto.com and Coinbase developing competing offerings. Additional entrants may follow, with blockchain infrastructure firm Ripple also exploring regulated prediction market products.
Industry participants say interoperability across multiple platforms is becoming increasingly important as the space matures and becomes more fragmented.
While major proprietary trading firms have so far had limited direct involvement in prediction markets, interest is growing. Citadel Securities president Jim Esposito said earlier this year the firm is “keeping an eye” on developments in the sector, while Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara has noted that institutional market makers currently account for only a small share of liquidity provision.
Ashok’s return to Citadel Securities is expected to bring additional expertise in prediction market infrastructure, though the firm is not currently active as a direct market maker on platforms such as Polymarket or Kalshi.
The move reflects broader industry convergence between traditional market making, crypto-native platforms and emerging event-driven trading venues.
