Citadel Drops U.S. Case Against Portofino as UK Bankruptcy Push Moves Forward

Citadel has dropped its U.S. trade secrets lawsuit against crypto market maker Portofino Technologies, while separately asking the High Court in London to declare Portofino co-founder Leonard Lancia bankrupt over an unpaid arbitration award. The U.S. case, filed in New York, was dismissed by joint agreement, with each side covering its own legal fees and costs.

The development matters because it moves a closely watched dispute involving a major traditional finance firm and a crypto-native market maker away from courtroom liability claims and toward enforcement and recovery. Citadel said it still believes in the strength of its claims, but argued that continuing the U.S. litigation made little financial sense if another judgment would likely go unpaid.

The dispute stems from claims involving Portofino, a Swiss digital asset trading infrastructure company founded in 2021 by former Citadel Securities executives. Portofino provides services including market making, over-the-counter trading and treasury management for exchanges, token issuers, institutional investors and Web3 projects.

Citadel previously won a London arbitration award against Portofino’s founders on employment-related claims, including breach of contract, unlawful means conspiracy and deceit. According to the filing, Lancia owes 5.98 million pounds from the 2025 London Court of International Arbitration award, plus interest and costs.

Citadel said the award was recognized by England’s High Court in February, that a statutory demand served in April was not satisfied, and that Lancia’s effort to set aside the demand was dismissed in May. The firm also said it has been unable to collect the award and estimated that security it holds against the debt is worth only about 21,886 pounds.