Odd Lots The King of Chicago Trading Wants to Build a GPU Market Bigger Than Oil
Sep 29, 2025
Don Wilson, the founder and CEO of DRW, shares his insights on the burgeoning GPU market, which he predicts could surpass the oil industry due to rising AI demands. He discusses the vision for a standardized market, the intricacies of compute auctions, and the potential for tokenizing financial assets. Don reflects on his trading career, emphasizes the need for robust indices, and anticipates that most financial instruments will be tokenized within five years, reshaping the future of trading.
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GPUs Could Become The Biggest Commodity
- Don Wilson predicts GPUs could become the world's largest commodity, surpassing crude oil within a decade.
- He argues such scale demands a liquid, standardized market for compute resources.
From Trading Pits To New Risk Metrics
- Don Wilson recounts starting in Chicago trading pits and then coding on a Macintosh to build models.
- He described inventing a new risk Greek 'psi' after losing money managing skew in eurodollar options.
Standardize Compute With Measurable Indices
- Standardize compute by defining indices for specific GPU models and measurable performance benchmarks.
- Use those indices as the basis for tradable contracts to create liquidity and price discovery.