Wintermute sees OTC volume quadruple due to ‘unprecedented’ institutional demand

Crypto market maker Wintermute said its over-the-counter trade volumes quadrupled in 2024, largely driven by the increase in institutional demand for crypto.

The company said in its year-end report that its OTC volumes rose by 313% last year, which exceeds the 142% yearly growth seen in the overall crypto exchange market. The number of trades jumped 250% compared to 2023, the report added.

According to Wintermute, a single-day high for OTC trade volume last year was worth $2.24 billion. This marked a significant increase from the $2 billion record set over an entire week in 2023.

The growth signifies increased participation from institutional investors, as key developments — such as the approval of spot crypto ETFs and growing political support for clearer regulations — helped lower the barriers for traditional players, according to the report.

“This regulatory clarity catalyzed unprecedented institutional engagement and capital inflows, fostering a rapidly growing trading ecosystem that increasingly interconnects with traditional finance,” Wintermute said.

Wintermute’s report also found that the OTC derivatives volume rose by 300%, as institutions sought more sophisticated instruments for yield and risk management. 

Meanwhile, Wintermute said traditional finance players are showing more interest in memecoins, which saw a meteoric rise in 2024. The share of memecoins in Wintermute’s OTC spot volume grew to 16.2% last year from 7.3% in 2023, while the share of major cryptocurrencies fell 58.7% from 67.9%.

Bitcoin reserves and memecoin ETFs

“Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate even greater momentum as crypto integrates deeper into global financial infrastructure through ETFs, corporate holdings, tokenization, and the rise of structured products,” said Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute Group.

The market maker’s end-of-year report predicted that 2025 would see a decline in price volatility driven by greater market participation and trade volume. It also forecasts the normalization of call skews with the rise of bitcoin and ether ETF options and other products.

As pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump takes office the coming Monday, Wintermute said it expects the new administration to reduce regulatory uncertainty for crypto by potentially classifying them as commodities. 

One of Trump’s more prominent crypto policy promises, establishing a national strategic bitcoin reserve, may force China, UAE and Europe to follow, Wintermute said.

The company also predicted more crypto ETF products to be launched this year, including multi-asset crypto ETFs and products that mirror specific categories of crypto such as DeFi tokens and memecoins.

“In 2025, a core asset manager will launch a memecoin ETF,” said Wintermute, adding that the launch of a Dogecoin ETF would be likely.

On Thursday, Nasdaq filed a 19b-4 form on behalf of Canary Capital for its spot Litecoin ETF, following the issuer’s amended S-1 form filing on Wednesday. This indicates that Litecoin would likely become the first altcoin ETF of this year.

“Litecoin ETF now has all the boxes checked,” Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X. “I don't see any reason why this would be withdrawn either given [the] SEC gave comments on the S-1, litecoin is seen as [a] commodity and there's [a] new SEC sheriff in town.”