Wintermute reports fourfold surge in OTC crypto trading volumes

Market maker Wintermute said its over-the-counter (OTC) trading volumes quadrupled in 2024, led by strong institutional demand.

2024 Wintermute OTC year in review

Institutional demand propelled our OTC trading volumes to quadruple in 2024, marking a defining year for crypto markets

From institutional engagement to market structure transformation, here’re the key trends our OTC desk observed in 2024 ↓ pic.twitter.com/yInG6cPLcd

— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) January 17, 2025

In its annual report, the firm said the number of trades rose 250%, while OTC turnover jumped 313%. For comparison, overall trading volumes on crypto exchanges grew just 142%.

The average trade size increased by 17%.

Spot OTC desk growing alongside institutional demand

‣ 946 unique pairs (up 64% from 2023)
‣ Average trade size up 17% → signaling institutional-sized trading

This combination of broader coverage and larger trades reflects a growing institutional presence pic.twitter.com/aEwVyb5LIN

— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) January 17, 2025

Daily peak OTC volumes reached $2.24 billion, far exceeding the 2023 record, when the maximum weekly figure was $2 billion.

Wintermute attributes the growth to stronger institutional activity, which it says was “stoked” by the launch of spot crypto ETFs in the US and political support for clearer regulation.

“Regulatory clarity has become a catalyst for unprecedented institutional interest and capital inflows, fuelling the rapid growth of a trading ecosystem that is increasingly integrated with traditional finance,” Wintermute said.

The report also says OTC derivatives volumes increased by 300%, “as institutions sought more advanced tools for yield and risk management”.

Wintermute also noted interest from traditional finance in meme coins. Their share of the platform’s OTC turnover rose to 16.2% (from 7.3% in 2023), while the share of major cryptocurrencies fell from 67.9% to 58.7%.

Wintermute forecasts

Analysts expect price volatility to ease in 2025, underpinned by rising market volumes and liquidity. They also anticipate steady demand for bitcoin and Ethereum options.

“We look to 2025 with optimism: we expect even greater growth as cryptocurrencies continue to integrate into the global financial infrastructure through ETFs, corporate assets, tokenisation and the development of structured products,” said the company’s CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy.

Wintermute hopes that with Donald Trump taking office, regulatory uncertainty will diminish, and cryptoassets will be classified as commodities rather than security tokens.

Analysts also do not rule out the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve in the US and, in time, in China, the UAE and EU countries.

The company further forecasts the emergence of new crypto-based products, including ETFs based on multiple assets, DeFi tokens and meme coins.

“In 2025, one of the leading asset managers will launch a meme-token ETF,” Wintermute said.

In their view, a Dogecoin-based ETF is quite likely.

Earlier, Wintermute trader Jake Ostrovskis expects the widespread use of corporate cash to buy bitcoin as a reserve asset, following MicroStrategy’s example.