Crypto market maker Wintermute shifts focus to Asia amid Western regulatory turmoil, plans expansion

Crypto market maker Wintermute is eyeing an expansion into Singapore after co-founder Yoann Turpin revealed that he would be moving to the Asian country alongside some staff members, Bloomberg reported on July 27.

Wintermute is much more focused on Asia

Turpin explained that the firm was becoming more focused on Asia following the regulatory issues plaguing the industry in the West.

The United States has recently increased its scrutiny of the space, with financial regulators filing legal actions against leading crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Binance.

Meanwhile, Asia has been experiencing a more positive wave of regulatory changes, with several countries introducing pro-crypto legislation to attract more crypto entrepreneurs to their shores. For context, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has paved the way for a more crypto-friendly environment, revealing its intent to license more than eight crypto companies by year-end and easing regulatory requirements for crypto exchanges.

Other jurisdictions like Singapore and Japan have also introduced new legislation to help the industry grow.

Turpin added that the market maker could set up a third office in Dubai—another pro-crypto jurisdiction that has introduced laws to regulate activities within the space. Wintermute reportedly opened its second office in Singapore in 2021.

Says 2022 was ‘an expensive year’

Meanwhile, Turpin described last year as an “expensive” one for the company but poured cold water on the possibility of the crypto firm raising new funds soon.

Last September, Wintermute was hacked for $160 million in its decentralized finance operations. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy assured clients its market-making funds were safe at the time.

However, the exploit has not dented the algorithmic market maker’s lead role in the industry. According to its website, the firm provides liquidity on over 50 exchanges and trading platforms, including Binance, ByBit, and others. The market maker also maintains 200 over-the-counter desks with 1000 counterparties.

Additionally, the firm recently celebrated its sixth anniversary on July 25.

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