Crypto market maker Wintermute lands SEC approval to trade equities and ETF blocks
Crypto market maker Wintermute has received approval from the SEC and FINRA to trade equities and act as an authorized participant for ETFs. This move allows the firm to provide liquidity for traditional financial products, signaling a deeper integration between crypto firms and traditional markets.
Why it matters
This regulatory milestone highlights the ongoing convergence of cryptocurrency infrastructure with traditional Wall Street financial systems.
New York-based Wintermute USA LLC registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The unit will operate as a proprietary trading firm rather than a retail broker.
The registration lets Wintermute trade stocks and equity options, provide liquidity to exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties, and act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including crypto-linked funds.
Authorized participants create and redeem large blocks of ETF shares, a process that helps keep an ETF's market price close to the value of its holdings.
Wintermute described the unit as proprietary-only and did not announce retail brokerage services.
Authorized participants create and redeem blocks of ETF shares directly with fund issuers, helping keep fund prices aligned with their underlying assets.
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