Evgeny Gaevoy on competition

In this must-watch fireside chat from Bitcoin Investor Week, ‪@AnthonyPompliano‬ sits down with Evgeny Gaevoy, Founder & CEO of Wintermute Trading — one of crypto's most powerful market makers. Evgeny traces Wintermute's journey: Launched in 2017 as a crypto-native firm, it competed head-on with heavyweights like Jump Trading and Alameda Research. The early years were brutal — two full years of grinding — but the firm hit its stride in mid-2020, building a full-spectrum crypto business that now spans trading, OTC, derivatives, and beyond. Far from the original plan, Evgeny came from traditional finance (TradFi) trading backgrounds. Today, with just ~150 people, Wintermute stays ultra-nimble and is gunning for the biggest TradFi players: Citadel, Jane Street, Jump, and more. Evgeny is extremely bullish — speed and agility give them a real edge against these giants. Pompliano points out how Wintermute's rise perfectly synced with institutional Bitcoin adoption. To expand into traditional markets, Evgeny explains they started with adjacent products to gain an edge, then introduced key differentiators like tokenized assets and spot gold trading. His ultimate vision? Wintermute aims to become the company that seamlessly moves physical and digital assets around the world. They discuss the advantage of Wintermute's hybrid DNA: TradFi experience + native crypto building. As pure TradFi firms enter crypto, they face unfamiliar hurdles — Wintermute understands both sides and knows exactly what needs to evolve in each. Shifting to AI: Everyone at Wintermute uses AI tools to supercharge workflows — especially legal and contracts, slashing time and costs dramatically. But Evgeny warns it's a double-edged sword: LLMs require heavy critical thinking and common sense on top — never take outputs at face value. They're deliberately avoiding over-reliance on AI for core code writing, sticking with trusted developers. Biggest risk? Not moving fast enough. Speed is their #1 competitive moat. Culture notes: Three offices, strong preference for in-person lean teams to preserve their edge, and a shared bonus pool for the entire company to align incentives. This conversation is a rare look inside one of crypto's most ambitious firms — and a blueprint for bridging TradFi and crypto at scale.