Wintermute’s CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, has publicly debunked or expressed strong skepticism toward recent rumors in the crypto market suggesting that a major institution or fund has “blown up” i.e., suffered a catastrophic collapse or liquidation.
This appears to stem from market volatility around early February 2026, including a sharp drop in Bitcoin and broader crypto prices, which sparked speculation about hidden leveraged blowups—possibly tied to hedge funds, perpetual futures positions, or other entities.
In a detailed post on X Gaevoy stated he remains “pretty skeptical” about claims of “somebody blew up,” or at least about any meaningful mid- to long-term impact. Rumors lack credible sources: Unlike past crises like Three Arrows Capital after Terra/Luna or FTX, where news spread rapidly through private industry channels, counterparties, and desks, current whispers mostly come from anonymous social media accounts with no confirmation.
Even if some individual institution faced issues, there’s no evidence of systemic contagion or broader market disruption. Much of today’s leverage is in transparent perpetual futures contracts on exchanges rather than opaque off-chain lending like in prior cycles, making risks more contained and orderly.
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Gaevoy emphasized that the crypto market feels more manageable now, with controllable risks. Note that Wintermute itself, a major crypto market maker and trading firm has faced past rumors of issues—such as during the October 2025 market crash—but those were also debunked or clarified by Gaevoy in earlier instances.
The episode highlights ongoing crypto market sensitivity to liquidation fears amid volatility, but Gaevoy’s view is that these particular theories are unsubstantiated noise rather than a sign of deeper trouble.
Wintermute is a prominent global algorithmic trading firm and one of the leading market makers in the cryptocurrency industry. Founded in 2017 by CEO Evgeny Gaevoy who previously built and led Optiver’s European ETF trading desk, the company specializes in providing liquidity to digital asset markets, making trading more efficient, stable, and accessible.
Wintermute acts as a market maker by continuously quoting buy (bid) and sell (ask) prices for a wide range of cryptocurrencies. This narrows bid-ask spreads, reduces slippage for traders, and helps stabilize prices during volatile periods.
They aim to remain delta-neutral (hedging positions to avoid directional market exposure) and operate in a highly rules-based, technology-driven manner. The firm provides liquidity across over 60 centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized platforms (DEXs).
It handles hundreds of millions in assets under management, with reported daily trading volumes often exceeding $5 billion and peaks even higher in some reports. They support spot trading, derivatives (perpetuals, futures), and OTC (over-the-counter) trades for large institutional or high-volume deals.
Technology-Driven Approach
Wintermute positions itself as a tech-first company rather than a traditional hedge fund. It uses advanced algorithmic trading, quantitative models, and high-frequency techniques adapted from traditional finance to handle the chaos of crypto markets. They emphasize building efficient systems to create value for exchanges and the broader ecosystem, rather than short-term speculation.
OTC Desk
A significant part of their operations involves an OTC desk that facilitates large, off-exchange trades in spot and derivatives, often serving as a source of deep liquidity for institutions, projects, or high-net-worth individuals. Market makers like Wintermute are crucial in crypto because many tokens have thin natural order books and low retail demand without external support.
By stepping in to absorb trades—especially during liquidations or volatility—they prevent extreme price swings and ensure markets remain functional. However, this role has sparked debates.
Some criticize practices like the “loan option model” (lending tokens to projects in exchange for fees or options) as potentially enabling dumps or manipulation. Others note that in extreme crashes, Wintermute and similar firms may pause trading if internal risk rules are breached, which can amplify short-term illiquidity.
Wintermute plays a foundational role in bridging traditional finance expertise with crypto, fostering more mature and liquid markets. Their official site describes this as “harnessing the chaos of digital assets into liquid and efficient markets.”
As of February 2026, they remain one of the most influential players in crypto trading infrastructure.