Wintermute gains SEC broker-dealer approval to trade U.S. equities, options, and ETFs alongside its crypto operations.
Regulation & Gov ·
Wintermute's U.S. arm has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, securing broker-dealer status that permits the crypto market maker to trade equities, options, and support exchange-traded fund blocks. The New York-based unit will operate as a proprietary trading firm, handling its own capital rather than serving retail clients. The registration also enables Wintermute to seek market-making roles on major exchanges and act as an authorized participant for ETFs, including crypto-linked funds.
The approval expands Wintermute's scope beyond its core crypto operations, which already process over $10 billion in average daily trading volume across decentralized and centralized venues. The firm intends to focus initially on crypto-linked markets and aims to scale into tokenized stocks once regulatory frameworks permit. This move aligns with a broader trend of crypto firms acquiring or building regulated securities businesses, with peers including Ripple, GSR, and Crypto.com having pursued similar pathways into traditional finance infrastructure.
What remains unclear is the timeline for Wintermute's expansion into tokenized securities trading and whether the firm will establish dedicated market-making operations on NYSE or Nasdaq before scaling those activities.