Wintermute's 1H26 OTC report finds institutional counterparties made up 72% of its spot crypto flow between January and June 2026, up from 59% a year earlier. The firm says institutions are concentrating trading in fewer tokens, leaning harder on derivatives, and Bitcoin's volatility has fallen alongside the shift.
Institutional counterparties accounted for 72% of Wintermute's spot OTC crypto flow in the first half of 2026, the market maker said in its latest OTC report. That share has climbed steadily: it stood at 61% in H2 2025 and 59% in H1 2025. Wintermute said institutional activity has become large enough to influence market direction and token performance.
Fewer tokens, more concentrated liquidity
The counterparties driving that flow include hedge funds, digital asset treasuries, asset managers, and family offices. According to Wintermute: "institutions are now the clear drivers of Wintermute's OTC flow", and their trading habits are reshaping how liquidity spreads across the market.
One shift stands out: institutions are sticking to a narrower set of tokens. Between H1 2024 and H1 2026, the number of unique tokens traded by institutional counterparties rose just 24%, while the count traded by retail investors expanded 76% over the same period. Wintermute said the shift has created a market where liquidity is increasingly concentrated in fewer assets.
Derivatives use climbs as volatility eases
Institutions have also pushed more exposure into derivatives. Altcoin options notional volume on Wintermute's desk grew 3.4 times between H2 2025 and H1 2026, as investors used options strategies to generate yield.
Wintermute linked that institutional buildup to calmer price swings. Bitcoin's realized volatility has dropped from near 70% in 2025 to about 45% now, the report found.
Source: CryptoPotato
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