Wintermute registers as broker-dealer in the US

Wintermute, the London-based crypto trader, is taking a major step towards the traditional financial world. The company’s US arm is registering as a broker-dealer in the US, bringing it under the supervision of both the SEC and FINRA. The aim is to compete with established names on Wall Street.

In brief:

• Wintermute USA is now registered as a broker-dealer and is thus subject to oversight by the SEC and FINRA.
• The company wants to become active as a market maker on exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
• In the longer term, Wintermute is aiming at tokenised equities, provided US regulators give the green light for that.

From crypto to Wall Street

The broker-dealer registration allows Wintermute USA to become a designated market maker on major US securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. As a market maker, a party continuously buys and sells shares and other securities, so that other investors can trade at any time without having to wait for a counterparty.

With this move, Wintermute comes under the supervision of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission. That is a significant shift for a company that has its roots in the crypto market. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wintermute USA has already managed to secure ETF issuers as clients. The company announces that it will begin trading in crypto-related markets, such as commodities and digital asset ETFs.

Competition with the biggest players

CEO Evgeny Gaevoy indicates that the company also wants to enter tokenised equities in the future, once US regulators allow it. The ambitions are big: within three to five years, Wintermute wants to compete with parties such as Jump Trading, Jane Street and Citadel Securities, three of the largest market makers in the world.

The move fits into a broader trend in which crypto companies are increasingly entering the regulated financial world. At the same time, traditional exchanges and institutions are showing more interest in digital assets. With this registration, Wintermute is trying to build a bridge between those two worlds, reports The Wall Street Journal.