Wintermute

𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐱 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫! We are excited to share that we are officially a Eurex member! Joining Eurex, the leading European derivatives exchange, is a significant step for Wintermute Asia. It enables us to offer institutional investors access to a wide range of derivative products and liquidity solutions within a framework that aligns with their established trading practices. Through Eurex, institutions can now execute large blocks across multiple crypto products, including options and futures, whilst using a familiar setup. In addition to our existing offerings, Wintermute Asia can structure tailored products referencing the Eurex products, addressing specific execution needs and conditions. We’ve observed strong interest from traditional finance in gaining exposure to cryptocurrencies, but institutions require trusted, secure methods to access crypto that align with their existing frameworks. By becoming a Eurex member, we aim to bridge this gap and enable institutions to trade digital assets in a compliant environment they are accustomed to. The onboarding process with such venues demands rigorous due diligence, as well as alignment of infrastructure and operational setups. We’re proud to be among the few crypto-native firms to meet these high standards. As a market leader in the digital asset ecosystem, we’re keen to bring our expertise into traditional finance and contribute to building a diversified financial system. Having already established a presence in other traditional finance venues, this membership is another key step in this direction as we continue to expand our reach across traditional finance venues that support crypto. This milestone also marks the continuous expansion of our derivatives offering, further solidifying our position as a one-stop shop for digital asset OTC trading. We look forward to working with the Eurex team and providing our counterparties with the most comprehensive offering in the space. → 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬: https://lnkd.in/dbpExxmX #options #futures #OTC #markets #Eurex #Wintermute — Disclaimer: Derivatives trading is offered by Wintermute Asia (Singapore). This material is provided solely for informational purposes and is intended only for sophisticated investors. Specifically, derivatives trading with Wintermute Asia is not suitable for retail persons.

2024 Year in review for Bitcoin and DeFi 📈 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 – 𝟑𝟎 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 Bitcoin saw significant volatility over the holiday season, reaching $99,887 before closing down -1.6%. 2024 marked historic milestones with Bitcoin ETF approval and the fourth halving, while DeFi protocols achieved record-breaking metrics across the board. 🔗 Full update: https://lnkd.in/gkA5VjG8 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 The holiday week saw notable institutional movements in the crypto space. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $366 million in net outflows, while Ethereum ETFs maintained their positive momentum with $349 million in inflows, marking their fifth consecutive week of gains. MicroStrategy continues to lead institutional adoption, acquiring 5,262 more bitcoins to reach total holdings of 444,262 BTC (~$42 billion). 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 • ETF milestone: 11 authorized providers managing over $100 billion in assets • Fourth halving successfully executed, reducing block rewards to 3.125 BTC • Transaction value surged 115% YoY to $18 trillion • Hash rate grew 53% to 779 Exahash/second • Mining revenue increased 38% to over $14 billion Public companies are deploying various bitcoin acquisition strategies, including: • Direct mining retention • Cash reserve allocation • Convertible note offerings • ATM equity offerings 𝐃𝐞𝐅𝐢’𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 The decentralized finance sector set multiple records in 2024, with stablecoin supply reaching $211 billion (+49% YoY) and total value locked hitting $195 billion (+116% YoY). Protocol revenue surged to $1.1 billion, led by Pump.Fun ($306M) and Ethena ($258M). Lending protocols demonstrated significant growth with outstanding debt increasing to $16.8 billion. 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 2024 was the year of Bitcoin from a traditional finance perspective, while 2025 is gearing up to be a resurgence from an onchain perspective. As long as the market continues to reward MicroStrategy and its mimics, more publicly traded corporations are likely to deploy bitcoin acquisition strategies. With planned Bitcoin developments like OP_CAT enhancing transaction expressiveness and enabling smoother asset trading and scaling technologies, Bitcoin's onchain economy appears positioned to flourish. Meanwhile, despite DeFi tokens being overshadowed by AI and memecoin sectors, DeFi advancements and adoption continued unabated. Under what is anticipated to be a clearer regulatory environment in 2025, the continued growth and expansion of DeFi protocols looks set to continue. 🔗 Get access to the full market update: https://lnkd.in/gkA5VjG8

Wintermute x OG Esports: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬? In trading, missing a market opportunity can hurt more than a loss. In gaming, having a target on your back means setting new standards. At the highest level, the real competition is with yourself.

Ending 2024 on the highest note - from riding powerful tailwinds to Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high! As momentum builds and opportunities expand across digital assets, the stakes have never been higher. To our partners, counterparties, and fellow builders who've been pushing boundaries alongside us - we wish you a magical holiday season filled with well-earned celebration. From all of us at Wintermute, here's to making 2025 even bigger! ✨

Bitcoin hits new ATH at $108K and Pudgy Penguins launches PENGU 📈 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 – 𝟐𝟑 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 Last week, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $108,000 before facing a sharp downturn following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. The announcement also halted an impressive crypto ETF streak in December, with Bitcoin ETFs accumulating $5.6 billion and Ether ETFs recording $1.7 billion in monthly inflows. Pudgy Penguins' PENGU launch highlights the evolving dynamics of NFT collection's token issuance. 🔗 Full update: https://lnkd.in/gh-CVDPX 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 The cryptocurrency market experienced significant turbulence last week, with major assets seeing sharp price swings: • Bitcoin reached $108K before dropping 13% to $92K • ETH declined 22% to $3,100, showing higher volatility than BTC • Total market capitalization contracted by 16% to $3.04T • $2.3B in long positions were liquidated • Total open interest across exchanges decreased 20% to $70B 𝐅𝐞𝐝'𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 The Federal Reserve's third rate cut of 2024 brought unexpected elements: • Rate reduction to 4.25%-4.5% • Only two projected rate cuts for 2025, below market expectations • Clear statement that Fed cannot hold BTC in reserves 𝐄𝐓𝐅 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 December marked a transformative period for cryptocurrency ETFs: • Bitcoin ETFs: $5.6B December inflows • IBIT captured 88% of flows (excluding GBTC's $700M outflows) • ETH ETFs: $1.8B December inflows • Both saw record streaks until Fed announcement • SEC approved two crypto index ETFs combining BTC/ETH exposure 𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐔 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 Pudgy Penguins' PENGU token launch created significant market movements: • Token distribution: 25.9% to community, 24.1% to ETH/SOL communities • Initial $6B valuation, later stabilizing at $2.5B • Floor price adjustment: surge to $135K, settled at $68K • Sparked rallies in other NFT collections: Doodles (+80%), Cool Cats (+72%) 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 The sharp correction, while dramatic, came after weeks of remarkable gains – a healthy reset typical in bull markets. With thinner holiday trading ahead, expect elevated volatility. BlackRock's record-breaking ETF growth signals institutional crypto adoption is surpassing expectations. Meanwhile, the resilience of NFT ecosystem tokens will depend on their ability to enhance collector value through meaningful utility and growth initiatives as more collections explore tokenization. 🔗 Get access to the full market update: https://lnkd.in/gh-CVDPX

Wintermute x OG Esports: 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥? From liquidity provision to esports, true leadership means seeing beyond competition. We're finding that our shared mission of industry growth creates more value than any single victory. 🏆

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬! 𝐖𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞! 🇸🇬 We celebrated this milestone the Singaporean way - with a traditional lion dance performance, pineapple rolling, and alongside our valued partners who've been part of our journey. Since 2021, we've seen remarkable growth in APAC, particularly in our OTC derivatives business. This new space allows us to double our headcount and strengthen our ability to serve Asia's digital asset markets with localized solutions. We're actively hiring to support our expansion! Check out our open positions: https://lnkd.in/dVmpsxr Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us - here's to Wintermute's next chapter in Asia!

Wintermute x OG Esports: 𝗜𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲? We sat down with our friends at OG Esports to chat about competition in both industries. Turns out that whether you’re trading or gaming, working together to grow the industry matters more than individual wins. "If the pie grows, everyone wins. That's more important than just winning the next trade” 🤝

Introducing 24/7 secondary OTC liquidity for BUIDL 🤝 Qualified investors in BlackRock’s tokenized fund, which are common counterparties of Wintermute, can now trade BUIDL via OTC with Wintermute. Throughout 2024, Wintermute's OTC desk has experienced exponential growth, helping Wintermute to hit a new record total daily trading volume of over $24 billion on November 13, 2024. This growth underscores our role in strengthening institutional infrastructure and delivering efficient, institutional-grade digital asset liquidity. BUIDL, launched on Ethereum in March 2024, is one of the world's largest tokenized funds. It's now available across Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, OP Mainnet, and Polygon. Through streamlined OTC trading and settlement processes, we're providing institutional counterparties with 24/7 liquidity to trade tokenized assets at scale. As a key liquidity provider bridging digital assets and traditional finance, we're enabling institutional investors to trade tokenized U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements more efficiently and at scale on secondary markets. With TradFi institutions increasingly looking to enter digital assets in 2025, Wintermute is positioned to provide the crucial liquidity bridge between traditional and digital finance. #OTC #liquidity #BUIDL → Read the full announcement:

Bitcoin breaks $104K, $1.7B market liquidation, and strong altcoin recovery 📈 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 – 𝟏𝟔 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 Bitcoin hits a new weekly high of $104,400 as market sentiment remains bullish despite $1.7B in liquidations. Mining sector shows strong recovery with $6.2B raised through convertible notes, reflecting growing institutional confidence in the space. 🔗 Full update: https://lnkd.in/gxjnRVXS 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 Last week, Bitcoin weathered a sharp 6.5% drop to $94,000 before rebounding to a record weekly close at $104,400 on Sunday amid key developments in U.S. inflation data and monetary policy expectations. U.S. CPI increased by 0.3% in November MoM, marking the largest monthly rise since April. While aligned with expectations, YoY inflation rose to 2.7%, up from October's 2.6%. Markets are pricing in 97%+ probability of a Fed rate cut at the December meeting. 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 November saw unprecedented levels of trading activity: • Bitcoin options volume: $110B (vs. March record of $71B) • Deribit options OI near ATH: $31B • CME Bitcoin futures volume: $289B • Ethereum futures OI up 320% to $3.6B 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 The stablecoin market cap exceeded $200B, up 13% over the past month. Growth driven by: • Rising speculative interest • DeFi yields reaching 15% APY • Strategic developments: Ripple's RLUSD approval and Circle-Binance partnership 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 Recent $1.7B liquidation event triggered price volatility, but market showed resilience: • Bitcoin: $171M liquidated • Ethereum: $250M liquidated • Quick recovery with funding rates normalizing from 120% to 10% APR Sector recovery revealed shifting preferences: • DeFi: 37% recovery • Gaming: 26% recovery • Layer-2: 23% recovery • Layer-1: 14% recovery 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 Public miners now control 27% of Bitcoin production, up from 19% post-halving. Industry highlights: • Collective holdings: 72,000 BTC (up 50%) • Q3 equipment investment: $1.5B • Recent financing: $6.2B via convertible notes • Leaders MARA ($8B) and Core Scientific ($4.6B) showcase divergent strategies 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 The explosive stablecoin growth and attractive DeFi yields signal expanding institutional opportunities. The recent correction appears as a healthy leverage flush, while the mining sector's sophisticated financing through zero-coupon convertible notes demonstrates how crypto's unique market characteristics are enabling innovative capital-raising approaches compared to traditional markets. 🔗 Get access to the full market update: https://lnkd.in/gxjnRVXS