Crypto market maker Wintermute is planning to invest up to $1 billion in artificial intelligence data center infrastructure and high-frequency trading over the next five years, according to a Bloomberg report.

The investment plan forms part of a broader strategy to scale Wintermute's non-cryptocurrency market activity to more than 50% of its overall business by the end of 2027, a significant increase from its current level of approximately 10%. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy shared the details with Bloomberg. The push reflects a wider trend among trading firms directing capital toward AI infrastructure, as machine learning models and high-speed execution increasingly define competitive advantage in both digital asset and traditional markets.

The expansion also includes growing the company's workforce. Wintermute intends to double the number of employees at its 17-person New York office next year and increase its global headcount by roughly 40%. The hiring plans come as demand grows for talent at the intersection of quantitative finance, distributed systems, and machine learning. Cointelegraph has reached out to Wintermute for additional details regarding the plans.

Crypto Firms Pushing Into Traditional Finance

Wintermute's move positions it as the latest crypto-native company to expand into traditional finance, as digital asset trading platforms increasingly integrate tokenized traditional assets to unlock new revenue streams. The convergence also reflects intensifying competition among market makers and exchanges to offer round-the-clock trading of equities and other conventional instruments.

Several major cryptocurrency exchanges have already launched tokenized stock offerings, including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Crypto.com announced its entry into the segment on Wednesday, offering initial access to 1,500 underlying stocks and funds.

Wall Street Explores Tokenization

Established Wall Street institutions are also pursuing tokenized equities. In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's pilot proposal to support trading of tokenized versions of high-volume stocks and securities.

Days later, on March 24, the New York Stock Exchange partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure for Wall Street, including tokenized shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds.

Magazine: What NYSE's exploration of onchain systems means for financial markets