Wintermute plans to invest $1 billion in AI infrastructure and high-frequency trading, aiming to generate more than half its revenue from traditional finance by 2027 as crypto trading volumes decline
Wintermute, a London-based crypto market maker, is preparing to invest up to $1 billion over the next five years to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure and high-frequency trading capabilities. The company's goal is to shift its business mix so that more than 50% of its revenue comes from traditional financial markets-including stocks, commodities, and foreign exchange-by the end of 2027, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Strategic Shift Amid Crypto Slowdown
Currently, Wintermute generates about 10% of its revenue from non-crypto markets. The planned expansion comes as the firm's crypto trading activity has slowed, with average daily trading volume dropping from $15 billion in 2025 to around $10 billion in 2026. This decline followed a sharp pullback in Bitcoin's price, which fell to roughly half its October peak above $126,000. Despite the lower volumes, institutional clients made up a record 72% of spot trading on Wintermute's over-the-counter desk in the first half of 2026, reflecting a shift in market participation.
AI and Infrastructure Investment
Wintermute's $1 billion investment will focus on training quantitative models using large datasets and expanding the firm's computing, storage, and networking resources. The company plans to fund this initiative entirely from retained earnings, rather than seeking outside capital. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy stated that Wintermute was profitable in 2025 and expects to remain profitable in 2026, though specific figures were not disclosed. The firm previously reported $582 million in profit during the 2021 crypto bull market, according to Forbes.
Competing in Traditional Finance
Wintermute's U.S. affiliate recently secured broker-dealer status, enabling it to trade stocks and stock options and act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm began trading ETFs and perpetual futures tied to real-world assets in 2025, added 24-hour exposure to West Texas Intermediate crude oil in March, and launched a prediction-markets desk in early 2026. Wintermute also plans to double its New York office staff in 2027 and increase its global headcount by about 40%. This expansion puts Wintermute in direct competition with established high-frequency trading firms such as Jane Street, Citadel Securities, and XTX Markets. XTX, for example, announced a €1 billion investment in Finnish data centers last year, while Jane Street is preparing to build its own data center infrastructure.
Tokenization and Market Integration
The move by Wintermute reflects a broader trend of crypto-native firms entering traditional finance and tokenized asset markets. Major exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance have launched tokenized stock offerings, and Crypto(dot)com recently announced access to 1,500 underlying stocks and funds. On the institutional side, the SEC approved Nasdaq's pilot for trading tokenized versions of high-volume stocks in March, and the New York Stock Exchange has partnered with Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure for tokenized shares and ETFs. This convergence of crypto and traditional finance is also driving institutional flows, as discussed in EgonCoin's recent coverage of how even modest allocations from global institutions could impact Bitcoin's long-term value as institutional capital shifts toward digital assets.
According to Forbes, Wintermute reported $582 million in profit during the 2021 crypto bull market. In 2026, the firm's average daily trading volume in crypto markets fell to about $10 billion, down from $15 billion in 2025. Institutional clients accounted for 72% of spot OTC trading volume in the first half of 2026, marking a record share for the firm. XTX Markets, one of Wintermute's new competitors in traditional finance, reportedly trades more than $250 billion daily and has committed over $1 billion to data center infrastructure.
As crypto-native firms like Wintermute expand into traditional finance, the boundaries between digital assets and conventional markets are becoming less distinct. Tokenization of real-world assets, such as stocks and funds, is enabling new forms of market access and liquidity, but also introduces new regulatory, operational, and technical challenges. For market makers, competing in both crypto and traditional finance requires not only advanced trading infrastructure but also the ability to navigate evolving compliance requirements and shifting market dynamics. The success of these cross-market strategies will depend on how effectively firms can integrate AI-driven trading, manage risk, and adapt to changing regulatory landscapes.
