Wintermute has registered a New York-based subsidiary, Wintermute USA, as a broker-dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The registration lets the crypto market maker trade stocks and options for its own account and act as an Authorized Participant for exchange-traded products tied to digital assets.
Wintermute has registered a New York-based subsidiary as a broker-dealer with the SEC and FINRA, the crypto market maker said in a Thursday announcement. The move gives the new entity, Wintermute USA, a licensed path into trading traditional stocks, options and crypto exchange-traded products alongside the firm's existing digital-asset business.
The registration lets Wintermute USA provide liquidity to U.S.-based securities exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties, and trade stocks and options from its own account. It can also self-clear digital asset securities transactions and act as an Authorized Participant for exchange-traded products, including those tied to digital assets, the company said.
An Authorized Participant creates and redeems large blocks of ETF shares for the underlying securities or cash, keeping a fund's price aligned with its net asset value. A broker-dealer, by contrast, is registered with the SEC and FINRA to both execute client trades and trade securities for its own account.
Gaevoy ties the move to converging markets
Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said "digital asset markets will evolve in more than one direction," adding that digital assets and traditional finance will keep developing in parallel before integrating more deeply.
Wintermute noted that its expansion into traditional assets comes amid a boom in tokenization. The SEC has largely favored blockchain experimentation, but the agency has also said onchain securities activities require appropriate licensure, since moving a security onchain doesn't exempt it from securities law.
Wintermute widens beyond crypto
Earlier this year, Wintermute said it would begin market-making for tokenized gold and provide two-sided liquidity for prediction markets. Wintermute USA will be based in New York, while the London-based parent facilitates over $10 billion in average daily trading volume across more than 60 exchanges.
Source: The Block
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