Wintermute enters Wall Street: broker-dealer license paves the way for crypto ETFs and tokenized stocks
Wintermute's American division has obtained broker-dealer status, fundamentally changing the game for one of the largest crypto market makers. This is not just a formality—it is the key to segments that were previously legally closed to the company.
The registration allows Wintermute USA to pursue the role of market maker on American exchanges. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy confirmed that the company will start with commodity assets and exchange-traded funds on digital currencies, including crypto ETFs. To me, this is a signal: the crypto industry is ceasing to be an isolated sandbox and is beginning to play by the rules of the traditional financial world.
Why this shifts the balance of power
Look at BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, which managed $43.2 billion in assets by the end of June. Dozens of companies have received permission to create and redeem its shares—a mechanism that keeps the ETF's price close to the value of the underlying assets. However, among these companies, there is not a single crypto firm. The fund's current prospectus lists only traditional giants: Jane Street, Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan.
Wintermute, which quotes assets on more than 60 venues, has so far been unable to participate in providing liquidity for its own flagship crypto product. This role required broker-dealer status. Now that gap is closed. But do not be fooled: the license does not make the company an instant designated market maker on the NYSE. Currently, only three firms hold that status: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, and GTS Securities. Only one market maker is assigned per security, and Citadel services about 62% of all NYSE issuers. Applicants require a minimum of $75 million in net capital excluding inventory risk.
Wintermute is entering this narrow circle, not the overcrowded community. And that is strategically sound: FINRA currently oversees 3,184 broker-dealers versus 3,394 in 2021—the market is shrinking, and only the strongest survive.
Institutional players have paved the way
The move onto Wall Street is backed by structural changes in the client base. In the first half of 2026, institutional clients accounted for 72% of Wintermute's over-the-counter trading volume, up from 59% a year earlier. Hedge funds, asset managers, family offices, and corporate treasuries are already buying stocks, commodities, and exchange-traded funds elsewhere. Wintermute wants to capture that market too, but without a license, that path was closed.
Preparation began early: in May 2025, the company opened its headquarters in New York and hired Ron Hammond, a former representative of the Blockchain Association, to lead its policy direction. The timing also supports this approach.
Tokenized stocks—the main trophy
Gaevoy stated that the next step will be tokenized stocks—once regulators in the U.S. give approval. The market is already taking shape: the SEC approved Nasdaq's trading rules for such securities in March 2026, and the owner of the NYSE, Intercontinental Exchange, backed a joint project with OKX. Wintermute has already staked its position: in September 2025, the company sent a letter to the SEC's crypto working group, insisting on the right of broker-dealers to trade tokenized securities for their own portfolio and hold them in wallets.
Back then, it was merely an argument for lobbying. Now it is the position of a licensed company. Two questions remain open: which securities will be the first to appear in Wintermute's listing, and whether any exchange will grant the company market maker status. Registration is a ticket to the market, but not a guarantee of a seat.
My conclusion: Wintermute is betting on the convergence of crypto and traditional finance, and it is the right bet. But competition from Citadel and Virtu will be fierce—they will require not only capital but also the reputation that crypto firms still need to earn in the eyes of American regulators.