Crypto market maker Wintermute plans to invest up to $1 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) data center infrastructure and high-frequency trading over the next five years, as it seeks to diversify beyond crypto.
CEO Evgeny Gaevoy told Bloomberg the firm aims to scale up its non-crypto market activity to account for over 50% of its business by the end of 2027, up from the current 10%.
Planned spending on AI data centers and high-frequency trading over five years.
The London-based firm expects to fund the investment with retained earnings. It also plans to double staff in its 17-person New York office next year and expand its global headcount by about 40%.
Wintermute's push comes as major crypto exchanges move into tokenized stocks. Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken are among the largest to have launched tokenized stock offerings, and Crypto.com announced its entry into the segment on Wednesday with initial access to 1,500 underlying stocks and funds.
Regulatory groundwork is advancing: In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq's pilot proposal to support trading of tokenized versions of high-volume stocks and securities. On March 24, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure.
Wintermute's daily trading volume has declined, averaging about $10 billion this year versus $15 billion in 2025. Still, institutions accounted for 72% of spot trading volume on its over-the-counter desk in the first half of 2026.
The privately held company was profitable in 2025 and expects to remain profitable this year.
Wintermute is expanding beyond crypto trading. It began trading exchange-traded funds and perpetual futures tied to real-world assets in 2025, added 24-hour exposure to West Texas Intermediate crude in March, and opened a prediction-markets desk in early 2026.
Its US affiliate secured broker-dealer status last week, allowing it to trade stocks and stock options and act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded funds.
