Wintermute Ventures

Investment decisions are led by Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, who oversees capital allocation across the trading and venture arms. The venture team operates with significant autonomy on deal sourcing and diligence, but final commitment authority rests with Gaevoy given the proprietary balance-sheet funding structure. No separate venture managing partner title has been publicly disclosed.

Deal flow originates largely from Wintermute's position as a market maker on hundreds of centralized and decentralized exchanges. The trading operation interacts directly with protocol teams needing liquidity support, creating a top-of-funnel that surfaces investment opportunities before they reach broader venture markets. The firm also co-invests alongside crypto-native funds like Hack VC and Dragonfly, leveraging shared diligence networks.

Wintermute Ventures is funded entirely from Wintermute's balance sheet — not external limited partners. This makes it structurally closer to a proprietary trading firm's venture arm than a traditional venture fund. The arrangement ties investment pacing to the profitability of the core market-making business rather than fundraising cycles.

The firm concentrates on seed and Series A rounds, occasionally participating in later-stage token launches when aligned with supported protocols. Check sizes are not publicly disclosed, but the co-lead of a $38 million Series A in 2024 suggests capacity for meaningful early-stage commitments. It does not participate in pre-seed or Series B+ rounds as standard practice.

Wintermute Ventures stays within crypto-native and blockchain-adjacent sectors. It does not invest in traditional fintech, enterprise SaaS, climate technology, or consumer internet companies. The mandate is strictly on-chain: infrastructure, DeFi, Web3 gaming, and related tooling.

Wintermute Ventures is a unit of the same legal entity as Wintermute's algorithmic trading and market-making operations. The trading desks run market-neutral strategies across CeFi and DeFi venues, while the venture arm takes directional, long-duration bets on protocol equity and tokens. The two functions are walled by strategy but share capital, brand, and Gaevoy's oversight.

The venture arm invests across Europe, Singapore, and the United States — the same regions where Wintermute's trading desks have operational density and regulatory clarity. Singapore-based teams bring proximity to Asian crypto markets including South Korea and Japan. The firm does not maintain dedicated offices for the venture arm beyond Wintermute's existing London and Singapore hubs.