Wintermute Registers as US Broker-Dealer, Eyes Traditional Markets

Wintermute, a leading cryptocurrency market maker, has taken a significant step towards expanding its reach into traditional financial markets. The company's US division has registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), allowing it to trade in regulated securities markets.

This registration makes Wintermute eligible to become a designated market maker on major US exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. As a market maker, Wintermute will provide liquidity to investors by continuously offering prices at which they are willing to buy and sell securities.

The company's CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, stated that Wintermute initially plans to trade in markets adjacent to digital assets, including commodities and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). If US regulators approve tokenized stocks, Wintermute may expand into this area as well. The company has already lined up ETF issuers as clients for its US business.

Wintermute's registration is part of a larger trend in the cryptocurrency industry, where companies are moving into regulated financial services through broker-dealer registrations and acquisitions. The company's expansion comes after processing approximately $3.5 trillion in trading volume last year and handling an average of about $10 billion per day.