Team up with an established builder of decentralized finance
Partner with the leading early-stage investor in the DeFi ecosystem to fuel your long-term growth
Venture investments
Countries represented in portfolio
Equity investments
Invested pre-Series A, %
Live token positions
Partner with Wintermute Ventures
Value add first -approach
Investments using own capital
Founded by web3 founders
In-house builders across web3
Governance and DeFi expertise
Deep liquidity understanding
Our mission & Investment thesis
Wintermute Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Wintermute, focuses on early-stage startups across the crypto value chain, having backed over 100 companies and protocols since 2020. Unlike traditional VCs, Wintermute Ventures exclusively invests its own funds, ensuring full alignment with founders and a focus on long-term growth.
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Frankly, Wintermute has been wonderful to work with across the board. Their trading team is top-notch, responsive, and easy to work with, and their ventures team is very knowledgeable about the industry. It also doesn’t hurt that Evgeny is great and truly cares about crypto.”
Tristan Yver, Co-Founder of Backpack
“
In addition to being a well-known and respected brand that opens doors in its own right, Wintermute is an outstanding venture partner that has given us very thoughtful insight and market perspective that has proven invaluable as Noble has scaled.”
Jelena Djuric, Co-Founder and CEO of Noble
“
Beyond just using our products, their team has given us honest feedback and acted as advisors for strategic choices, which has fostered a strong relationship. They bring significant value through their reputation and experience, offering opportunities and providing us with insightful perspectives that have been crucial as Kiln has grown. ”
Laszlo Szabo, Co-Founder and CEO of Kiln
“
Wintermute Ventures have been one of our most engaged investors despite the fact we are not one of their largest investments. Their thorough due diligence provided deep project insight, fostering a valued friendship while offering candid feedback and serving as a strategic sounding board.”
Darius Tabatabai, Co-Founder of Vertex
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Wintermute Ventures has been a committed supporter of Chaos Labs since our early days. We have consistently been impressed with their deep and thoughtful understanding of crypto markets. Their partnership, responsiveness and expertise have been invaluable to our journey.”
Omer Goldberg, Founder & CEO of Chaos Labs
“
Wintermute is a leading trading and venture firm in the space with an excellent reputation and track record of success. Ultimately, what sets them apart is their reliability, operating principles, high credibility and mission to propel decentralized finance into the future.”
Rabeel Jawaid, Founder of Bluefin
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Building through incubation
Building products is central to Wintermute’s mode of operation. Over the years, Wintermute has incubated innovative protocols in cooperation with partners and separate teams that have grown to be independent businesses.
Bebop
A comprehensive app and API suite designed to bring efficient execution and enhanced liquidity to DeFi.
GMCI
Provider of institutional-grade, transparent indices on digital assets. Built in partnership with The Block.
Wildcat
An Ethereum protocol that unlocks undercollateralized, bespoke on-chain credit solutions.
How Wintermute Ventures creates value
Wintermute Ventures has supported on building 55+ integrations for our portfolio companies, including trading integrations, mint & redeem, liquidity provisioning, data publishing, governance, and more. We add value through diverse avenues:
Co-build
Learn from our in-house DeFi & Research teams across testing, building, and growing your product. For example: Wintermute integrated with 1inch as a PMM to provide additional trading volume, crucial in supporting initial growth liquidity to the aggregator.
Governance
Get assistance with ecosystem grants and proposal writing from our dedicated Governance team. For example: Wintermute’s dedicated Governance team published Pyth’s first proposal, establishing the necessary framework for decentralization.
Token liquidity
Unlock liquidity for your token on DEX and CEX via Wintermute to reduce price volatility from slippage and build trust among investors. Wintermute has helped various portfolio companies create liquid markets for their tokens.
Mentorship
Leverage the collective experience of our veteran founders and proven track record in incubating the next wave of web3 protocols. In 2024, Wintermute hosted a free 4-week Crypto Builder Bootcamp on best practices for building a web3 startup, alongside Press Start Capital, Impossible Finance, and Ethereum University.
Network
Tap into our network of hundreds of influential protocols; as well as thousands of OTC counterparties, including the largest VCs, whales, and institutional investors; all through our events and introductions. Attend or co-host Wintermute’s EndPoint event series, where we have hosted a panel covering the latest DePIN sector trends and challenges alongside DAWN, bringing together London’s investment and startup communities at our offices.
OTC access
Access advanced treasury management solutions and trading strategies via Wintermute’s OTC desk. Wintermute’s institutional OTC desk has worked alongside the founding teams of various portfolio companies to handle significant token unlocks and other large liquidity events, ensuring excellent execution.
Co-build
Learn from our in-house DeFi & Research teams across testing, building, and growing your product. For example: Wintermute integrated with 1inch as a PMM to provide additional trading volume, crucial in supporting initial growth liquidity to the aggregator.
Governance
Get assistance with ecosystem grants and proposal writing from our dedicated Governance team. For example: Wintermute’s dedicated Governance team published Pyth’s first proposal, establishing the necessary framework for decentralization.
Token liquidity
Unlock liquidity for your token on DEX and CEX via Wintermute to reduce price volatility from slippage and build trust among investors. Wintermute has helped various portfolio companies create liquid markets for their tokens.
Mentorship
Leverage the collective experience of our veteran founders and proven track record in incubating the next wave of web3 protocols. In 2024, Wintermute hosted a free 4-week Crypto Builder Bootcamp on best practices for building a web3 startup, alongside Press Start Capital, Impossible Finance, and Ethereum University.
Network
Tap into our network of hundreds of influential protocols; as well as thousands of OTC counterparties, including the largest VCs, whales, and institutional investors; all through our events and introductions. Attend or co-host Wintermute’s EndPoint event series, where we have hosted a panel covering the latest DePIN sector trends and challenges alongside DAWN, bringing together London’s investment and startup communities at our offices.
OTC access
Access advanced treasury management solutions and trading strategies via Wintermute’s OTC desk. Wintermute’s institutional OTC desk has worked alongside the founding teams of various portfolio companies to handle significant token unlocks and other large liquidity events, ensuring excellent execution.
Find the support you need
Our Portfolio Support Page is a dedicated resource hub for our portfolio companies. Here, our founders can find exclusive supplier discounts, tailored insights, tools, and expert support designed to help them navigate the challenges of scaling their company.
Founder log-inVentures Team
Jonas Kristensen
Head of Wintermute Ventures
Jonas Kristensen
Head of Wintermute Ventures
Jonas Kristensen has spent over a decade across VC and PE. Prior to joining Wintermute Ventures, Jonas was a vice president at Permira, where he specialized in growth investments across fintech and tech-enabled verticals. Prior to Permira, Jonas was a private equity investor at Terra Firma in London. Jonas started his corporate career at JP Morgan after building an adtech business.
He holds an MSc in Finance & Accounting from Imperial College. In his spare time, Jonas enjoys kitesurfing and playing Magic Cards whenever his kids allow him some free time.
He holds an MSc in Finance & Accounting from Imperial College. In his spare time, Jonas enjoys kitesurfing and playing Magic Cards whenever his kids allow him some free time.
Joscha Kuplewatzky
Investment Manager
Joscha Kuplewatzky
Investment Manager
Joscha has 8 years of experience in various buy-side and sell-side roles across traditional capital markets and venture capital. He has helped incubate startups by working closely with founders to achieve their growth targets.
Joscha holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a sports aficionado with a keen interest in fantasy leagues across multiple sports.
Joscha holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a sports aficionado with a keen interest in fantasy leagues across multiple sports.
Evgeny Gaevoy
Wintermute Founder
Evgeny Gaevoy
Wintermute Founder
Evgeny has 15+ years of experience growing fintech businesses. He has consistently grown market share in Europe’s top fiat exchanges, developed and executed ambitious expansion projects and led agile cross-functional teams. Prior to founding Wintermute, Evgeny built and ran the Optiver's European ETF business (HFT and OTC) - one of the largest in the EU.
Evgeny holds MSc in Finance and EMBA from London Business School. He is an avid reader (particularly enjoys philosophical and sci-fi pieces) and supports Dota 2 as an amateur gamer.
Evgeny holds MSc in Finance and EMBA from London Business School. He is an avid reader (particularly enjoys philosophical and sci-fi pieces) and supports Dota 2 as an amateur gamer.
Yoann Turpin
Wintermute Co-founder
Yoann Turpin
Wintermute Co-founder
Yoann has 10+ years of experience as a high-frequency trader at Optiver. Prior to co-founding Wintermute, Yoann worked in London’s hedge funds and family offices. Yoann is a seasoned startup investor and serves as a board member or advisor to over 10 startups.
Yoann holds MSc from EdHec business school. In his spare time, Yoann enjoys learning new languages.
Yoann holds MSc from EdHec business school. In his spare time, Yoann enjoys learning new languages.
Latest at Wintermute Ventures
FAQ
Does Wintermute Ventures do equity investments?
We do both token and equity based investments; in fact, the vast majority of our investments are a mix of both. We invest via convertible notes, such as SAFEs, or via straight equity subscriptions. On the token side, we do SAFTs, as well as Token Warrants or Token Purchase Agreements. We are committed to remaining flexible in our investment model to fit the needs of our portfolio companies.
What stages does Wintermute Venture invest in?
Most of our investments focus is on early-stage (pre-seed to Series A) startups, but we also participate in later stage deals.
What are Wintermute Venture’s main investment criteria?
We focus on category-defining startups with the boldness to redefine entire sectors and industries. We focus on founders who have a strong vision, who are willing to be coached throughout their growth journey.
Does an investment mandate a liquidity partnership with Wintermute?
In contrast to other trading firms, we don’t force our portfolio companies into a commercial relationship with our trading business. We act and think as independent venture investors and as such, we encourage companies to work with any liquidity provider that meets their needs.
What is Wintermute Venture’s usual ticket size?
We don’t have a “usual” ticket size. One of our greatest strengths is our flexible mandate, which allows us to adjust our ticket size depending on how much the company is looking to raise.
Can Wintermute Venture lead investment rounds?
We often lead and co-lead investment rounds; however, given the flexibility of our mandate, we are open to following the terms set by another lead VC.