Wintermute enters Wall Street: broker-dealer license obtained and ambitious plan against Citadel
Wintermute's American division, one of the world's leading market makers in digital assets, has officially obtained broker-dealer status. Registration with the SEC and FINRA membership open the doors to regulated U.S. markets for the company. This is not just a formality—it is a strategic breakthrough that will allow Wintermute to reach a fundamentally new level of work with institutional clients.
The key point here is access to the infrastructure of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for digital assets. Previously, Wintermute, despite its presence on more than 60 trading venues, could not participate in the creation and redemption of shares in giants such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, where assets under management reached $43.2 billion. Now this barrier has been removed. The list of authorized participants of the fund already includes Jane Street, Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, and Wintermute intends to join this exclusive circle.
Five-Year Plan: From ETFs to Tokenized Stocks
The company's CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, has outlined an ambitious goal: within three to five years, to directly compete with such giants as Jump Trading, Jane Street, and Citadel Securities. The plan is phased. At the first stage—focus on ETFs for commodities and digital assets. Next, pending regulatory approval—entry into the market for tokenized stocks. The ultimate goal is to obtain designated market maker (DMM) status on a major stock exchange.
The path will not be easy. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), only three companies hold DMM status: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, and GTS Securities. Citadel Securities, for example, services more than 62% of all NYSE listings. Capital requirements for such players are at least $75 million. Wintermute will have to prove its viability in a highly competitive environment dominated by decades of experience.
Institutional Foundation and Regulatory Risks
Wintermute has a significant advantage—an already established client base. In the first half of 2026, institutional clients accounted for 72% of the company's spot volumes on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, compared to 59% a year earlier. These clients already trade stocks, commodities, and ETFs through other platforms, and now Wintermute will be able to offer them a more comprehensive range of services.
However, regulatory risks should not be overlooked. FINRA, which oversees broker-dealers, makes decisions on applications within 180 days, and the number of such companies in the U.S. is steadily declining: from 3,394 in 2021 to 3,184 at the end of 2025. Wintermute is entering a shrinking circle, not a growing market.
Tokenized stocks are, without a doubt, the main prize. The SEC has already approved trading rules for them on Nasdaq, and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the NYSE, has supported a joint project with OKX. Back in September 2025, Wintermute sent a letter to the SEC's Crypto Task Force, lobbying for the right of broker-dealers to custody tokenized securities themselves. Now this position is backed by a license.
My view: Obtaining the license is only the first step. The main challenge for Wintermute is not so much regulation as the ability to compete with Citadel and Jane Street on their own turf, where milliseconds and billions in capital decide the outcome. However, if anyone is capable of challenging the traditional giants, it is a company that has already built one of the most reliable infrastructures in cryptocurrency trading. The only question is whether it will have enough resources and patience for a multi-year siege.