Market maker Wintermute plans to invest approximately $1 billion in high-frequency trading and AI infrastructure over the next five years, CEO Evgeny Gaevoy told Bloomberg in an interview.
The firm will fund these expenses from retained earnings. According to the CEO, entering traditional markets requires significant investment, as Wintermute will compete with players who have been refining their trading systems and infrastructure for decades.
Currently, non-crypto activities account for about 10% of the market maker’s revenue. By the end of 2027, the company aims to increase this share to more than 50%. Wintermute’s average daily trading volume in 2026 decreased to approximately $10 billion from $15 billion the previous year.
Gaevoy aims to gradually transform Wintermute from a predominantly crypto market maker into a universal trading firm similar to Jane Street or Citadel Securities.
One of the main investment areas will be data centers for AI and quantitative models. According to Gaevoy, modern trading strategies require not only minimal latency in trade execution but also the ability to continuously train models on large volumes of market data. This necessitates additional computing power, storage systems, and network infrastructure.
Wintermute is also expanding its team. In 2027, the company plans to double the staff at its New York office, which currently has 17 employees, and increase its global workforce by approximately 40%.
Beyond Cryptocurrencies
Wintermute began expanding into traditional assets earlier this year. In February, the market maker added tokenized gold PAXG and XAUT to its OTC platform. Clients now have access to settlements in cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and fiat.
In March, the company’s Asian division launched 24/7 OTC trading of WTI oil CFDs, including weekends and holidays. Management noted the demand for using crypto infrastructure to trade traditional assets.
In February, Wintermute analysts also highlighted the increasing competition between stocks and digital assets for retail capital. They observed that investors are more frequently reallocating funds between these asset classes rather than simultaneously increasing positions in both.
Earlier, on August 7, the market maker entered the regulated U.S. securities market. Wintermute USA LLC, an affiliated entity, registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC.
