Crypto liquidity hub Wintermute reportedly in talks with Tencent to raise up to $300m

Algorithmic cryptocurrency trading firm Wintermute is reportedly in talks with Chinese giant Tencent and other investors to raise up to $300 million.

Wintermute, a high-frequency trading and market-making firm in the crypto space, is in talks with multiple investors about a new round of funding. The company is aiming to raise up to $300 million, including existing shares, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The London-based firm, founded by Evgeny Gaevoy, is in talks with Chinese multinational company Tencent and other investors about possible financing at a valuation of around $2 billion, the report said.

While details about the financing have not yet been disclosed, sources say that early investors in Wintermute could sell some of their shares, bringing the total deal size to $300 million. The Information previously reported that the firm was aiming to raise $100 million. Wintermute had not made any statements on the matter by press time.

The new funding follows Wintermute’s $20 million Series B round in January 2021, led by Lightspeed Ventures and with participation from Pantera Capital and Hack VC.

Founded in 2017, Wintermute operates as an algorithmic trading firm that provides liquidity to crypto businesses such as Binance, Coinbase, Bybit, and Uniswap. In September 2022, Wintermute lost over $160 million due to a hack. Blockchain researchers later expressed concerns about the nature of the attack, suggesting that the incident was likely an inside job.