Wintermute Registers as US Broker-Dealer, Eyes Tokenized Stocks

Wintermute Challenges Jane Street, Citadel With US Securities Push

Wintermute is moving deeper into traditional finance, registering its U.S. business as a broker-dealer and setting up a direct challenge to some of Wall Street’s largest market-making firms.

Wintermute USA LLC is now registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The approval allows it to operate as a regulated proprietary trading firm in U.S. securities markets.

The registration also makes Wintermute eligible to seek designated market-maker roles on exchanges, according to the company’s official statement. Market makers continuously quote prices to buy and sell securities, helping investors transact without waiting for another order to appear.

Crypto Liquidity Firm Pushes Into Traditional Markets

Wintermute said the license allows its U.S. arm to trade equities and equity options for its own account. It can also act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products, including funds linked to digital assets.

The company may also self-clear transactions involving digital asset securities for its proprietary book.

“Our long-term conviction has always been that digital asset markets will evolve in more than one direction,” Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said. He added that digital assets and traditional finance will “ultimately integrate more deeply.”

The firm plans to begin with markets closely tied to crypto, including commodities and digital-asset ETFs. Wintermute’s global business handles more than $10 billion in average daily trading volume and provides liquidity across more than 60 centralized and decentralized exchanges.

Tokenized Equities Could Be the Next Step

The longer-term opportunity lies in tokenized securities.

Wintermute plans to expand into tokenized stocks if U.S. regulators approve a broader market for them. The broker-dealer registration gives it a regulated foundation to participate in that shift.

The company also aims to compete more directly with established firms such as Jump Trading, Jane Street and Citadel Securities over the next three to five years.

Wintermute USA is headquartered in New York and operates with a dedicated local team. The firm said the registration follows increased investment in the U.S. and continued engagement with policymakers over digital-asset market structure.

The move marks a notable change in direction for a company built around crypto-native liquidity. Wintermute is no longer positioning itself only as a bridge between centralized exchanges and decentralized markets. It is now trying to become a bridge between crypto and Wall Street itself.