Jump Trading is making crypto a big focus in 2018 for its venture arm Jump Capital in 2018. An innovation lab based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is playing a role in the firm's crypto efforts. Jump Trading is making cryptocurrency a big focus for its venture arm in 2018, and is bringing in college kids as part of the effort. The secretive Chicago-based trading firm actively trades digital currencies, while Jump Capital, a venture capital investor, has put money into a number of crypto infrastructure companies.