DV Chain is a Chicago-based cryptocurrency trading and market-making firm operating as the digital asset arm of DV Trading, a proprietary trading company founded in 2009. DV Chain was established around 2018–2019 to focus specifically on crypto markets, bringing the algorithmic trading infrastructure and risk management practices of its parent firm into the digital asset space. The firm operates across spot and derivatives markets, providing liquidity on centralized and decentralized venues.
As a corporation with roots in high-frequency and quantitative trading, DV Chain approaches crypto investments differently from traditional venture funds. Its strategic investments tend to target infrastructure companies – exchanges, prime brokers, and settlement platforms – that align directly with its trading operations. The firm is based in the United States, with a primary focus on North American and global crypto market infrastructure.
Notable investments
Public information about DV Chain's full investment portfolio is limited. The firm has participated in funding rounds for select crypto infrastructure companies. One publicly documented investment is FalconX, the institutional crypto prime brokerage that raised hundreds of millions of dollars across multiple rounds with participation from trading-oriented firms. Beyond this, DV Chain's specific deal history, co-investors, and check sizes are not extensively disclosed in public filings or press releases. The firm reports 8 portfolio companies and 1 lead investment in available data aggregators, but individual company names are not all publicly confirmed.
Team
Public information about DV Chain's founding team and managing partners is limited. The firm operates under the broader DV Trading organizational structure. DV Trading was co-founded by Tom Hutchinson and partners with backgrounds in options market-making and proprietary trading on exchanges including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. DV Chain's specific leadership roster is not prominently disclosed in press coverage or on the company's public web presence. The firm does not maintain a public-facing team page with named partners as of available public records.
Recent activity
In the 2023–2025 period, DV Chain continued expanding its market-making operations across major crypto exchanges. The firm has been active in discussions around institutional crypto market structure, particularly as U.S. regulators moved toward clearer frameworks under the FIT21 legislation and subsequent rulemaking. DV Chain, alongside other proprietary trading firms such as Jump Trading and Virtu Financial, engaged with policy conversations around crypto market microstructure. The firm has not announced a formal venture fund vehicle or disclosed a total AUM figure for its investment activities.
DV Chain occupies a narrow but strategically relevant position in the crypto ecosystem – a trading-first firm that makes selective infrastructure bets rather than broad portfolio-style venture investing. With 8 reported investments and a single lead role, its investment activity is modest compared to dedicated crypto VCs. Its edge lies in operational proximity to the markets it invests in, giving it a practitioner's view of which infrastructure layers matter. For the firms it does back, DV Chain can offer liquidity, market-making relationships, and connectivity that a typical financial investor cannot. Public disclosure of its activities remains sparse, which makes independent evaluation of its track record difficult.