Wintermute USA LLC registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and became a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on August 7, 2026
Wintermute USA LLC registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and became a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on August 7, 2026, establishing a regulated presence in US securities markets for a major digital-asset liquidity provider.
According to an official announcement, the New York-based affiliate can trade equities and equity options as principal and participate in primary markets for exchange-traded products. The registration places Wintermute within the infrastructure used to create and redeem shares of digital-asset exchange-traded products.
The registration gives Wintermute USA a regulated route into US securities activity while keeping its business focused on proprietary trading. Under SEC and FINRA oversight, the firm can provide liquidity to national securities exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties for its own account.
Good morning, USA
— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) August 6, 2026Wintermute USA is now an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member (https://t.co/7rQGL6UzX6)The registration marks Wintermute's entry into U.S. regulated markets and strengthens our coverage of institutional counterparties in the region pic.twitter.com/IBZBbAB7GP
According to Wintermute, the registration is explicitly limited to proprietary principal trading. Wintermute USA LLC is authorized to trade equities, equity options, and other security-based instruments for its own account, self-clear digital-asset securities transactions for its own account, and act as an Authorized Participant for exchange-traded products, including products tied to digital assets.
Authorized Participants create and redeem ETF shares, a primary-market function that helps align an ETF’s trading price with its underlying assets. That role gives Wintermute USA the ability to participate in the market infrastructure supporting crypto-linked exchange-traded products rather than only trading their shares in secondary markets.
Wintermute said the registration follows continued investment in the U.S. market and active engagement with regulators and policymakers on market structure and digital-asset regulation.
Wintermute is entering a broker-dealer market with fewer registered firms than in recent years. FINRA oversaw 3,184 registered broker-dealers at the end of 2025, down from 3,394 in 2021.
Wintermute Registers as U.S. Broker-Dealer, Targets Wall Street Market-Making GiantsThe Wall Street Journal reported that Wintermute’s U.S. arm has registered as a broker-dealer, bringing it under FINRA and SEC oversight and making it eligible to seek designated market-maker… pic.twitter.com/bD9BpIDLJU
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 6, 2026
Across global venues, the Wintermute group facilitates more than $10 billion in average daily trading volume and provides liquidity across more than 60 centralized and decentralized exchanges. Crypto Briefing reported that the firm processed approximately $3.5 trillion in trading volume in 2025. Wintermute has also said in its H1 2026 OTC report that institutional counterparties accounted for roughly 72% of its spot trading volume, up from 59% a year earlier.
Wintermute said its U.S. institutional client base includes ETF issuers. Its ability to act as an Authorized Participant allows Wintermute USA to participate directly in the creation-and-redemption process for exchange-traded products while operating for its own proprietary account.
Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said the company expects digital assets and traditional finance to develop in parallel, intersect in new ways, and integrate more deeply over time. He said firms operating across both centralized digital-asset markets and regulated U.S. securities venues will need technical and operational expertise in both areas.
The registration also comes amid developments in tokenized securities. In March 2026, the SEC cleared Nasdaq’s rule for tokenized share trading, and Intercontinental Exchange backed a tokenized equities venture with OKX in June. Citigroup research estimates that the current $17 billion tokenized-asset market could expand to $5.5 trillion by 2030, while a16z crypto estimates that real-world tokenized assets excluding stablecoins have surpassed $34 billion.
SOURCE: CoinGlassAccording to reports on the announcement, Wintermute aims to compete with major market makers, including Citadel Securities, Jane Street, and Jump Trading, within three to five years.
Its planned rollout begins with commodities and digital-asset ETFs, with tokenized equities identified as a potential later expansion subject to further regulatory approval. Designated Market Maker status on a major exchange is the stated longer-term objective.
Only three firms currently hold Designated Market Maker status on the New York Stock Exchange under its market model: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, and GTS Securities. Wintermute’s ability to reach comparable status would depend on additional approvals.
Wintermute has already entered adjacent markets through over-the-counter market making in tokenized gold products including PAXG and XAUT. The company’s US broker-dealer registration adds regulated securities and exchange-traded product services to its proprietary trading activities.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Details are based on Wintermute’s announcement and publicly available reporting as of August 2026. Forward-looking statements about Wintermute’s strategy and expansion plans are not guarantees of future results.
The post Wintermute Gains Regulated Route Into U.S. ETF Markets appeared first on Tokenist.
