Wintermute secures U.S. broker-dealer status, opening path to ETF and tokenized securities markets

Wintermute USA LLC has completed broker-dealer registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, giving the crypto market maker direct access to U.S. securities markets for the first time. The approval covers trading in stocks and stock options and gives the firm a route to act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products, including digital-asset funds, although Wintermute has not disclosed an ETF issuer appointment or other market-access arrangements that are typically required. The company said the structure will let it serve clients across crypto and conventional assets from a single U.S.-registered entity and support its push into tokenized securities, where traditional instruments such as stocks or bonds are issued and transferred on blockchain rails. The expansion builds on Wintermute's existing ETF liquidity work, tokenized-asset activity and earlier move into prediction markets as it broadens beyond core crypto market making.