Crypto market maker Wintermute lands SEC approval to trade equities and ETF blocks

Crypto market maker Wintermute lands SEC approval to trade equities and ETF blocks

The crypto market maker can now trade US stocks and options and support ETFs as crypto moves closer to traditional markets.

Wintermute’s U.S. arm has officially registered with the SEC and joined FINRA, securing broker-dealer status for its institutional operations. The firm is now authorized to trade U.S. stocks and options, provide liquidity for ETFs, and self-clear digital asset securities for proprietary accounts. Wintermute plans to focus initially on crypto-linked markets, with intentions to scale into tokenized stocks pending necessary regulatory approvals.

Crypto market maker Wintermute has secured broker-dealer status in the U.S., giving the firm a regulated route into Wall Street as crypto trading and traditional securities markets draw closer together.

New York-based Wintermute USA LLC registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The unit will operate as a proprietary trading firm rather than a retail broker.

The registration lets Wintermute trade stocks and equity options, provide liquidity to exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties, and act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including crypto-linked funds.

Authorized participants create and redeem large blocks of ETF shares, a process that helps keep an ETF's market price close to the value of its holdings.

Wintermute described the unit as proprietary-only and did not announce retail brokerage services.

Authorized participants create and redeem blocks of ETF shares directly with fund issuers, helping keep fund prices aligned with their underlying assets.

The registration also lets Wintermute seek market-making roles on exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The firm has already lined up ETF issuers to work with, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Wintermute handles more than $10 billion in average daily trading volume across over 60 centralized and decentralized venues, according to the company.

The approval follows a longer U.S. buildout. Wintermute opened its New York headquarters last year and later asked the SEC to confirm that broker-dealers could trade tokenized securities for their own accounts, self-clear transactions and hold proprietary positions through wallet software.

Wintermute joins crypto firms including Ripple, GSR and Crypto.com that have acquired or built regulated US securities businesses as the line between crypto markets and traditional finance narrows.

Ripple completed its $1.25 billion purchase of prime broker Hidden Road in 2025, while GSR acquired broker-dealer Equilibrium Capital Services. Crypto.com bought Watchdog Capital in 2024.

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