NEW YORK – November 13, 2025 – Wintermute, one of the world's leading algorithmic trading firms and OTC desks, today announced four senior U.S.-based appointments that strengthen its position at the apex of regulated institutional crypto markets. Spanning compliance, regulatory affairs and institutional partnerships, the strategic hires follow Wintermute’s recent New York headquarters launch and underscore the firm’s commitment to unlocking the next wave of institutional capital in digital assets. 

David Micley, Head of U.S. Business Development: Micley is a veteran in institutional relationships, previously having been at Bridgewater Associates and Floating Point Group. He has led Wintermute’s Business Development efforts in the Americas for four years, expanding Wintermute’s commercial footprint across the region and establishing over a hundred counterparty relationships. He will lead Wintermute’s growing U.S. business development team in partnering with additional Wall Street and traditional finance counterparties in his new role. 

Matthew Pizzo, Chief Compliance Officer: Pizzo brings over 13 years of experience in compliance and legal oversight across trading and technology firms. He previously served as Compliance Officer at Tower Research Capital and later as Principal Regulatory Specialist at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Earlier in his career, he held a senior compliance role at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), ensuring U.S. equities and options trading platforms met technical, legal and regulatory requirements. At Wintermute, Pizzo will oversee the design and implementation of a comprehensive compliance infrastructure to meet the highest standards of institutional partners and regulators.

Dmitry Kotov, Lead U.S. Counsel: Kotov previously served as Deputy General Counsel at EDX Markets. Before that, he was Associate Counsel for the MIAX Exchange Group, providing guidance across its national securities exchanges on regulatory and transactional matters. Earlier in his career, he held posts at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He has been a key contributor to shaping digital asset legislation in Washington and will lead Wintermute’s U.S. regulatory strategy, ensuring constructive dialogue with policymakers and solidifying Wintermute as a trusted industry voice in regulatory affairs.

H. Branch Johnson, Managing Director, BD: Johnson is a traditional finance veteran, having previously held leadership roles at Hidden Road–acquired by Ripple for $1.25 billion–and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. With a proven track record in driving institutional product growth, his work at Wintermute will focus on deepening ties with Wall Street institutions, asset managers, and market infrastructure firms.

“As U.S. regulatory clarity advances and traditional finance accelerates its crypto activity, we’re investing heavily in leadership that understands both worlds,” said Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO and founder of Wintermute. “We’re meeting the institutional moment for digital assets with a world-class team that has the experience required to bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance responsibly and at scale.” 

The four appointments complement the recent hiring of Ron Hammond, previously a senior leader at the Blockchain Association, as Head of Policy and Advocacy. Additional U.S. hiring is planned as part of Wintermute’s Americas buildout, with the firm further expanding its institutional support, compliance, and ventures teams through 2025. 

About Wintermute Group

Wintermute is a global algorithmic trading firm, leading OTC desk, and liquidity provider in digital assets. With over $15 billion in average daily trading volume, it provides liquidity across 60+ centralized and decentralized exchanges and is a key partner to token projects seeking deep, scalable liquidity. Wintermute's proprietary trading infrastructure allows it to operate across the entire digital asset ecosystem, making it the preferred counterparty for a broad range of players, including some of the world's largest traditional financial institutions. This reach now extends further into traditional finance, with active trading on exchanges such as CME and Eurex. Building is central to Wintermute's DNA, with the company incubating new protocols, some of which have grown into independent businesses.

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