Wintermute Sees Revenue Plunge but CEO Remains Optimistic

https://www.theblock.co/post/196559/wintermute-sees-revenue-plunge-but-ceo-remains-optimistic-forbes

Digital asset trading firm Wintermute booked $225 million in revenue during the first nine months of 2022, compared to $1 billion for all of 2021, Forbes reported.

In 2021, the firm — led by former Optiver trader Evgeny Gaevoy — reported $582 million in profit. Wintermute has $400 million in equity and $720 million in assets, Gaevoy told the magazine. 

The CEO received $12 million last year in the form of dividends paid to shareholders. 

Gaevoy told Forbes he is preparing for another 2021-like year, noting that "we don't necessarily care about making the most now because it'll be just a tiny fraction of the bull markets that can come."

Underpinning the firm's revenue slump this year was a broader credit crunch that forced some of its competitors to step back from certain trading or lending activity or to declare bankruptcy. That's been coupled with a steep decline in trading volumes, which firms like Wintermute rely on to turn an outsized profit. 

Wintermute also got hit by a $160 million hack on the firm's decentralized finance operation in September.