DRW

What is DRW?

DRW is a diversified proprietary trading firm founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, with over 30 years of experience providing liquidity across a variety of asset classes. The firm is 'where markets are made' — innovating across both traditional and cutting-edge markets, and has grown into one of the leaders in global markets. DRW trades for its own account, and the absence of outside investors enables the firm to be innovative and nimble. DRW is NOT a retail prop firm — it's an institutional proprietary trading firm with a crypto arm called Cumberland.

Is DRW a prop trading firm?

DRW is an institutional proprietary trading firm, but NOT a retail prop firm. It does NOT offer evaluation challenges, funded accounts, profit splits, or account sizes to individual retail traders. Instead, DRW trades for its own account across global financial markets, providing liquidity across traditional and cutting-edge asset classes. If you're an individual trader looking for a funded account, DRW is not the right fit.

What does DRW do?

DRW deploys sophisticated technologies to make markets more efficient, transparent, and fair. The firm is active on exchanges on five continents, trading a wide variety of products and asset classes. In each market, DRW is a significant source of liquidity, ensuring vibrant two-way markets that are efficient, fair, and transparent. DRW is not just a liquidity provider, a risk taker, or a latency-sensitive trading firm — it is all of those things, depending on the market.

Does DRW trade crypto?

Yes. DRW has been at the forefront of crypto asset trading since 2014 through its Cumberland subsidiary. After making its first Bitcoin trade in 2010, DRW launched Cumberland in 2014 to become the counterparty of choice for institutional investors. Cumberland is a global leader in crypto-asset trading, specializing in institutional-sized liquidity for spot and futures products on BTC, ETH, stablecoins, and altcoins. Cumberland executed Goldman Sachs' first-ever block trade in crypto in 2021.

What is Cumberland DRW?

Cumberland is DRW's crypto subsidiary, launched in 2014 to become the counterparty of choice for institutional investors in cryptoassets. Cumberland is a global leader in crypto-asset trading, specializing in institutional-sized liquidity for spot and futures products. It offers OTC and on-exchange trading via API, electronic trading solutions, or voice, for spot trading and derivatives on BTC, ETH, stablecoins, and altcoins. Cumberland is an award-winning provider (Hedgeweek APAC Digital Assets Awards) and executed Goldman Sachs' first-ever block trade in crypto in 2021.

How long has DRW been trading crypto?

DRW made its first Bitcoin trade in 2010 and officially launched Cumberland in 2014 to become the counterparty of choice for institutional investors. This means DRW has over a decade of crypto trading experience (14+ years since the first BTC trade) and Cumberland has been operating for 10+ years. In 2021, Cumberland executed Goldman Sachs' first-ever block trade in crypto, demonstrating institutional credibility.

What crypto products does Cumberland offer?

Cumberland offers OTC and on-exchange trading via API, electronic trading solutions, or voice for spot trading and derivatives on BTC, ETH, stablecoins, and altcoins. The firm provides institutional-sized liquidity for spot and futures products, with multiple connectivity options including API for programmatic trading, electronic platforms, and traditional voice broker execution. Cumberland serves institutional investors seeking deep, dependable liquidity in cryptoassets.

How big is DRW?

DRW has over 2,000 employees, including 800+ technologists with 5,000+ combined years of tenure. The firm processes 13M+ transactions in a single day and 280K trades per minute at peak. DRW is active on exchanges on five continents, making it one of the leaders in global markets. The firm's massive scale and technology infrastructure enable it to provide significant liquidity across multiple asset classes.

What is DRW's history?

DRW was founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, who pioneered the use of robust modeling to identify opportunities in global financial markets. Key milestones include: entering energy markets (2002), establishing DRW Foundation (2004), Convexity Properties (2009), DRW Venture Capital (2011), Cumberland DRW for crypto-asset trading (2014), Goldman Sachs' first crypto block trade via Cumberland (2021), Cumberland Labs blockchain incubator (2022), opening Hong Kong office (2023), and launching Artemeter DRW for carbon markets (2024).

What is DRW Venture Capital?

DRW Venture Capital was established in 2011 to invest directly in financial innovation and technology companies. The VC firm invests in financial and enterprise technology that benefits DRW's daily work, with notable investments including BitGo and TradingView. This venture capital arm allows DRW to leverage its deep expertise in fintech and enterprise tech to support innovative companies in the financial ecosystem.

What is Cumberland Labs?

Cumberland Labs is a global blockchain incubator launched in 2022 and backed by DRW's founders. The incubator supports blockchain and crypto innovation, extending DRW's commitment to the digital asset ecosystem beyond trading into building and nurturing new blockchain projects. Cumberland Labs represents DRW's long-term investment in the future of the crypto and blockchain industry.

Is DRW carbon neutral?

Yes. DRW became the first carbon-neutral global trading firm in 2020. Don Wilson co-founded Climate Vault, a non-profit that helps institutions achieve climate neutrality through compliance market credits. In 2024, DRW launched Artemeter DRW to combine its expertise in global compliance carbon markets and voluntary carbon market trading with enhanced services in structuring, origination, and advisory — demonstrating ongoing commitment to climate leadership.

What is the DRW Foundation?

The DRW Foundation was established in 2004 to provide resources to organizations focused on access to education, career readiness, and opportunity in underserved communities. The foundation represents DRW's commitment to corporate social responsibility and giving back to communities, alongside the firm's commercial trading activities and climate initiatives.

Who founded DRW?

DRW was founded in 1992 by Don Wilson, who pioneered the use of robust modeling to identify opportunities in the global financial markets. Wilson continues to lead the firm as Founder and CEO. He also co-founded Climate Vault, a non-profit that helps institutions achieve climate neutrality, which led to DRW becoming the first carbon-neutral global trading firm in 2020. Wilson is an active voice in markets, commenting on topics like perpetual futures and blockchain market structure.

What makes DRW unique?

DRW's uniqueness comes from the diversity of strategies it deploys across asset classes. The firm is not just a liquidity provider, a risk taker, or a latency-sensitive trading firm — it is all of those things, depending on the market. This is possible because DRW has some of the sharpest engineers, technologists, traders, portfolio managers, and professionals in the world. The absence of outside investors enables DRW to be innovative and nimble, while its 30+ years of experience provide deep market expertise across traditional and cutting-edge markets.