DRW Trading Group

DRW Holdings, LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1992 (1992)
FounderDon Wilson
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
ProductsProprietary trading
Algorithmic trading
High-frequency trading
Number of employees
2,000 (2025)[1]
Websitedrw.com

DRW Holdings, LLC, commonly known as DRW, is an American proprietary trading firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, a former options trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,[2] The firm trades across asset classes including fixed income, derivatives, energy, agriculture, and digital assets. [3]

DRW operates globally through North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and has expanded through acquisitions including Chopper Trading and RGM Advisors.[4]

History

DRW was founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, an options trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and was named after his initials: DRW. The firm utilizes a variety of different strategies, including high-frequency trading, and was a notable subject in Michael Lewis's 2014 book Flash Boys, which describes how several trading firms compete to build infrastructure designed to reduce latency in electronic trading (latency arbitrage).[5]

DRW has expanded through acquisitions and portfolio transactions. In 2008, during the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, DRW purchased Lehman's foreign exchange, interest-rate derivatives, and agricultural derivatives portfolios in a fire sale auction.[6] In 2015, DRW acquired proprietary trading firm Chopper Trading.[7] In August 2017, Reuters reported that DRW had acquired high-frequency trading firm RGM Advisors.[8] Later, in November 2017, DRW established an energy trading group in Houston from Martin Energy Trading.[9]

DRW has also been active in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. In 2014, DRW Launched Cumberland, a cryptocurrency trading subsidiary focused on institutional digital asset markets. Cumberland has been described as a liquidity provider in cryptocurrency markets and a participant in institutional digital asset trading.[3][10][11]

In 2018, DRW backed Eris Exchange, a cryptocurrency market that allows trading various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.[12] Digital Asset Holdings, which is creating a "blockchain database", was spun out of a Bitcoin trading operation at DRW.[13]

In 2020, founder Don Wilson co-founded a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing and retiring emissions allowances in regulated carbon cap and trade markets.[14]

In 2025, DRW expanded its London operations, hiring at least 23 traders and other professionals from investment banks and hedge funds, including UBS, Millennium Management, and BNP Paribas.[15]

DRW has been the subject of regulatory litigation.

In 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil enforcement action against DRW and founder Don Wilson, alleging manipulation of interest-rate swap futures during 2010 and 2011.[16] In 2018, the case was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that the CFTC had failed to prove its allegations.[17]

In October 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil enforcement action against Cumberland DRW, alleging that it had operated as an unregistered securities dealer in digital asset markets since at least 2018 and had executed more than $2 billion in crypto asset transactions that the regulator characterized as securities.[18][11]

In March 2025. the SEC dismissed the action pursuant to a join stipulation with Cumberland DRW, and the case was terminated with prejudice by court.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ Mucklejohn, Lars (2025-09-03). "Trading giant DRW boosts pay and headcount in London". Financial News.
  2. ↑ "About Us". DRW. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  3. 1 2 Rathbone, John (2024-11-04). ""Is Chicago's Don Wilson the smartest man in trading?"". Financial Times. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  4. ↑ "High-Speed Traders In Search of New Markets Jump Into Bitcoin". Bloomberg.com. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  5. ↑ "The Gazillion-Dollar Standoff Over Two High-Frequency Trading Towers". Bloomberg.com. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  6. ↑ Saphir, Emily Chasan, Ann (2010-04-15). "Firms reaped windfalls in Lehman auction: examiner". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "They're The World's Fastest Traders. Why Aren't They Thriving?". Bloomberg.com. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  8. ↑ McCrank, John (2017-08-16). "DRW to buy RGM in latest deal among high-speed trading firms". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  9. ↑ "DRW to Hire Houston-Based Energy Trading Group". www.businesswire.com. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  10. ↑ Yang, Yuegi (2022-03-07). "Trading Firm DRW Allows Crypto Investors to Hedge Risk With Bilateral Options". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  11. 1 2 Osipovich, Alexander (2024-10-10). "SEC Sues Crypto Unit of High-Speed Trading Firm DRW". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  12. ↑ "Eris Exchange to Create Crypto Market Backed by DRW, Virtu". Bloomberg.com. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  13. ↑ Popper, Nathaniel (2015-12-29). "Start-Up With Bitcoin in Its DNA Stumbles on Fund-Raising Trail (Published 2015)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  14. ↑ O'Donnell, Jim (2023-06-27). "Climate Vault launches new carbon reduction venture | TechTarget". Sustainability and ESG. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  15. ↑ Mucklejohn, Lars (2025-09-10). "DRW taps banks and hedge funds for two dozen London traders". FN London. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  16. ↑ Osipovich, Alexander (2016-11-30). "Trader Don Wilson Faces Potential Lifetime Ban as Trial Begins". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  17. ↑ Rubin, Alexander Osipovich and Gabriel T. (2018-12-03). "Judge Dismisses Market-Manipulation Case Against Don Wilson Jr., DRW". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  18. ↑ "SEC.gov | SEC Charges Cumberland DRW for Operating as an Unregistered Dealer in the Crypto Asset Markets". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  19. ↑ Shen, Muyao (2025-03-04). "DRW Says SEC to Drop Lawsuit Against Cumberland Crypto Unit". Archived from the original on 2025-07-21. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
  20. ↑ "SEC.gov | Cumberland DRW LLC". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-21.
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