Wintermute has achieved a significant milestone by securing a US broker-dealer license, clearing the path for Wall Street market making operations. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Wintermute's US arm has registered as a broker-dealer with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and joined FINRA, giving the crypto market maker a regulated foothold in American securities markets. The registration enables Wintermute USA to trade traditional equities and equity options for its own account, provide liquidity to national securities exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties, and act as an authorized participant for exchange traded funds (ETFs). CEO Evgeny Gaevoy has set an ambitious target of competing with Jump Trading, Jane Street and Citadel Securities within three to five years. The registration places the entity under SEC oversight and FINRA membership requirements, including rules covering capital, supervision, recordkeeping and trading conduct. Wintermute described the unit as proprietary-only and did not announce retail brokerage services, focusing on institutional operations.
The most significant opportunity lies in Wintermute's new role as an Authorized Participant (AP) for exchange-traded products (ETPs), including crypto ETFs. As reported by AMBCrypto, APs produce and redeem ETF shares, enhancing market liquidity and assisting in maintaining crypto ETF prices in line with the worth of their underlying assets. With the introduction of more crypto ETFs in the United States, Wintermute can support institutional trading to a greater extent. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy remarked that their long-term conviction has always been that digital asset markets will evolve in more than one direction. This registration gives Wintermute a regulated entity that could participate if US rules for tokenized securities continue developing, with NYSE also pursuing a framework for tokenized securities to trade alongside conventional shares.
Institutional investors achieved a historic milestone in cryptocurrency markets, accounting for 72% of spot trading volume on Wintermute's over-the-counter desk in the first half of 2026, according to Wintermute's latest OTC flow report. This represents a significant increase from 59% in the first half of 2025 and 61% in the second half of 2025. As reported by Wintermute, hedge funds, digital asset treasuries (DATs), asset managers, and family offices drove this institutional dominance, marking the highest level on record for the platform. The institutional concentration provides the foundation for Wintermute's expansion into traditional financial markets and crypto ETF operations.
The shift represents the clearest sign yet that Wall Street, not retail traders, now sets the pace of crypto markets. According to Wintermute's analysis, the prolonged bear market that pushed retail traders toward equities gave institutional flow more weight in shaping prices. The platform noted that at three quarters of volume, institutional flow defines market structure. This concentration builds on a trend where institutional crypto bets have narrowed toward Bitcoin, Ethereum and select DeFi names, rather than spreading across smaller tokens. Wintermute's institutional client base, which already trades equities, commodities and ETFs elsewhere, provides a natural bridge into traditional financial markets and crypto ETF operations.
Wintermute faces significant competition in its Wall Street ambitions, with Citadel Securities holding designated market maker status for more than 1,900 NYSE listings (62% of NYSE listings) and issuers selecting it for more than 80% of NYSE IPOs. The firm must navigate separate approvals for each market segment, starting with commodities and digital asset ETFs before progressing to tokenized equities. Wintermute must carry at least $75 million in capital before inventory risk to qualify for designated market maker status. The firm has established early groundwork by opening a New York headquarters in May 2025 and hiring Ron Hammond from the Blockchain Association to lead policy work. Wintermute has already secured ETF issuers as clients and plans to start in markets close to its existing expertise, including commodities and digital asset ETFs, before considering a broader move into tokenized equities.
