Crypto market maker Wintermute has secured U.S. broker-dealer status, giving the firm a regulated pathway into Wall Street as digital-asset and traditional securities markets increasingly converge.

Wintermute USA LLC has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The registration permits the firm to trade U.S. stocks and equity options, provide liquidity to exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) counterparties, and act as an authorized participant for ETFs, including crypto-linked funds. The authorized participant role has taken on added significance since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, creating sustained demand for firms capable of handling creation and redemption mechanics for crypto-linked investment products.

The New York-based unit will operate as a proprietary trading firm rather than a retail broker. This structure also gives it the registration needed to pursue market-making roles on major exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq.

Wintermute plans to initially focus on crypto-linked markets, with tokenized stocks identified as a potential area for expansion pending regulatory approval. Tokenization — the issuance of traditional securities on blockchain networks — has drawn growing interest from global financial institutions, though comprehensive U.S. regulatory frameworks for such instruments remain in development.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Wintermute processed approximately $3.5 trillion in trading volume last year and currently handles roughly $10 billion in daily trades across more than 60 venues.

The firm has already signed ETF issuers as clients and aims to compete with established market makers including Jump Trading, Jane Street, and Citadel Securities within three to five years. Those firms are among the dominant liquidity providers in U.S. equities and options markets, with Citadel Securities alone handling a substantial share of U.S. retail stock order flow.

The move comes as crypto firms increasingly seek access to traditional financial infrastructure and look to diversify beyond volatile digital-asset markets. Wintermute's expansion also positions the company for a potential convergence between crypto markets, ETFs, and tokenized securities.

For Wintermute, the broker-dealer registration marks a strategic shift from operating largely within crypto-market liquidity to seeking a direct role in the broader U.S. financial system.