Wintermute, a digital assets-focused market maker and OTC desk, has attained a bitcoin(BTC)-backed credit line from Cantor Fitzgerald, following similar financing deals announced last month with Maple Finance and FalconX.
Cantor said the newly launched Bitcoin Financing Business is expected to provide up to $2 billion in financing during its initial rollout. The size of Wintermute’s deal with the investment bank was not disclosed.
The lending and borrowing of crypto was taking place on an industrial scale several years back, but many of the firms involved either incurred heavy losses or were forced into bankruptcy as contagion spread through the industry. But Cantor’s debut perhaps signals a new and more institution-friendly phase.
Wintermute is currently expanding its presence in the U.S., where a groundswell of movement is happening in crypto trading under Donald Trump’s pro-innovation administration.
Institutional demand for digital assets such as bitcoin, stablecoins, and select high beta altcoins continues to accelerate, driven by catalysts such as ETF developments and shifts in interest rate environments, said Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy.
“Given the capital intensive nature of our operations, especially OTC trading, which involves managing settlement windows and maintaining capital across multiple venues, the facility enhances our ability to hedge risks effectively across exchanges and maintain broad market coverage,” Gaevoy said in an email.
Read more: Wall Street Giant Cantor Debuts Bitcoin Lending Business With First Tranches to FalconX, Maple