Market maker Wintermute plans to invest approximately $1 billion in high-frequency trading and AI infrastructure over the next five years. This was revealed by the company's CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, in an interview with Bloomberg.
The firm will finance the expenses from its retained earnings. As the CEO explained, entering traditional markets requires significant investment: Wintermute will have to compete with players who have "been honing their trading systems and infrastructure for decades."
Currently, non-cryptocurrency-related directions bring the market maker about 10% of its revenue. By the end of 2027, the company aims to increase their share to more than 50%. Wintermute's average daily trading volume in 2026 decreased to approximately $10 billion compared to $15 billion the previous year.
Gaevoy wants to gradually transform Wintermute from a predominantly cryptocurrency market maker into a universal trading firm akin to Jane Street or Citadel Securities.
One of the main areas of investment will be data centers for working with AI and quantitative models. According to Gaevoy, for modern trading strategies, not only minimal execution latencies are important but also the ability to continuously train models on large volumes of market data. This requires additional computing power, storage systems, and network infrastructure.
Wintermute is simultaneously expanding its team. In 2027, the company intends to double the staff of its New York office, which currently employs 17 people, and increase its global headcount 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 gained access to settlements in cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and fiat.
In March, the company's Asia division launched 24/7 OTC trading of CFD contracts for WTI crude oil, including weekends and holidays. Management then stated there was demand for using crypto infrastructure to trade traditional assets.
Also in February, Wintermute analysts noted increased competition between stocks and digital assets for retail capital. According to their observations, investors have begun reallocating funds between these asset classes more frequently, rather than simultaneously increasing positions in both.
Recall that on August 7, the market maker entered the regulated US securities market. An affiliated entity, Wintermute USA LLC, registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC.
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