eForex-August-2025-PAGES-HIGHRES

transforming global foreign exchange markets

e-FOREX

e-forex.net AUGUST 2025

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FX FUTURES

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ELECTRONIC

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Rewriting Emerging Market

FX hierarchies

AUTOMATION

& DATA

Paving the way for more

holistic FX risk management

FX TECHNOLOGY

PROVIDERS

Making the case for

transparency standards

AI AGGREGATION

TOOLSETS

Helping brokers become

strategic market leaders

STABLECOINS

A paradigm shift in

treasury management

COVER INTERVIEW

JAY MOORE

GLOBAL HEAD OF SWAPS &

DERIVATIVE PRODUCTS AT LMAX GROUP

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Welcome to

e-FOREX

transforming global foreign exchange markets

August 2025

Our special report in this edition focuses on emerging market

FX trading and sets out to explore how technology and

electronic platforms are dramatically transforming the business

by improving market access and facilitating more sophisticated

trading strategies and risk management approaches. Changes

taking place with NDFs, including further electronification, is

also playing a key role in reshaping EM FX trading. It’s worth

bearing in mind however, that success in trading emerging

market currencies will not just be down to technology but will

still require the deep local expertise, regulatory knowledge, and

market relationships that have always characterised this side of

the market.

Susan Rennie

Susan.rennie@sjbmedia.net

Managing Editor

Charles Jago

charles.jago@e-forex.net

Editor (FX & Derivatives)

Charles Harris

Charles.harris@sjbmedia.net

Advertising Manager

Ben Ezra

Ben.ezra@sjbmedia.net

Retail FX Consultant

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Michael.best@sjbmedia.net

Subscriptions Manager

David Fielder

David.fielder@sjbmedia.net

Digital Events

Ingrid Weel

mail@ingridweel.com

Photography

Tim Hendy

tim@thstudio.co.uk

Web Manager

FX risk management has now become a far more complex

undertaking in a number of ways and this month we examine

how more automated, data-driven approaches are making

it more efficient and effective. Many firms are moving from

reactive to proactive risk management through real-time

monitoring and predictive analytics where systems can anticipate

market movements and adjust strategies accordingly, rather

than just responding after events occur. Next generation

technologies like AI and Machine Learning which bring

tremendous opportunities for enhanced decision-making,

automated responses and pattern recognition, are driving much

of the innovation currently taking place but they require careful

implementation to avoid creating new risks, for example by

amplifying market volatility through correlated responses. It’s

becoming increasingly clear that in today’s environment, the

ability to manage risk with precision, transparency and speed is

becoming a true differentiator amongst FX providers.

A recent report from Keyrock and Bitso business provides an indepth

look at Stablecoins as payment rails. It concludes that we

are at a strategic inflection point as Stablecoins have grown from

a trading tool into a payment rail capable of moving $1 trillion

in annual payment flows within the decade. Their trajectory, the

report says, is toward systemic relevance, reshaping how liquidity

is managed, how policy is transmitted, and how money itself is

experienced. We will be talking about Stablecoins a lot over the

coming year and this month start by examining how they can

provide solutions to some of the persistent challenges facing

corporate treasury professionals while enabling new strategic

possibilities through programmable payments.

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As usual I hope you enjoy reading this edition of the magazine.

Charles Jago

Editor

AUGUST 2025 e-FOREX 3

CONTENTS

August 2025

CONTENTS

Rahul Gupta

FX Futures

Henry Durrant

Standards

Vikas Srivastava

Centralization

Vivek Shankar

Emerging Market FX

Jay Moore

e-Forex Interview

Kebbie Sebastian

Stablecoins

INDUSTRY REPORT

12. The FX market in 2025:

Future-proofing FX

We summarise findings from the

forthcoming second research report

from LSEG FX this year which looks

at trends in technology spend,

innovation and next-gen solutions,

managing liquidity fragmentation

and automation of FX workflows.

MARKET

COMMENTARY

14. FX traders, the future belongs

to you!

Rahul Gupta discusses the growing

significance of FX futures.

SPECIAL REPORT

20. How electronic platforms are

rewriting Emerging Market FX

hierarchies

Vivek Shankar explores how

technology is driving significant

changes in emerging market FX

trading and how institutions are

preparing for the next wave of

product innovation.

STANDARDS

32. Establishing transparency

standards for FX trading

technology providers

Henry Durrant stresses the need

for industry-wide transparency in

technology performance, outlines

the key principles of fair and

open data sharing, and proposes

a framework for establishing

meaningful standards.

E-FOREX INTERVIEW

34. Talking with one of the true

innovators in FX

e-Forex speaks with Jay Moore,

Global Head of Swaps and

Derivative Products at LMAX

Group.

EXPERT OPINION

42. From silos to success: How

cloud tech enables modern FX

centralization

Vikas Srivastava outlines

how technology enabled FX

centralization is fueling growth and

profitability for banks of all sizes.

RISK MANAGEMENT

44. Automation and data:

Paving the way for taking a

more holistic approach to FX risk

management operations.

Paul Golden discovers how

automation and better use of

data offer the prospect of a



PROVIDER

VIEWPOINT

52. From execution to

intelligence: How AI aggregation

tools are helping brokers lead

Matt Singh explains why brokers

who are adopting AI-powered

forecasting early are positioning

themselves not just as service

providers, but as strategic market

leaders in the eyes of their clients.

DIGITAL ASSETS

54. Stablecoins: The future of

corporate treasury management

Kebbie Sebastian tells us why

stablecoins represent a paradigm

shift in corporate treasury

management, offering solutions

to age-old challenges in liquidity

management, cross-border

payments, and operational

complexity.

COMPANIES IN THIS ISSUE

A

ABEX

B

Beeks

Bloomberg

C

Centroid Solutions

Citi

CLS Group

CME Group

p8

p10

p13

p11

IFC

p23

p14

D

26 Degrees Global Markets p17

E

Euronext

F

Finalto

FXSpotStream

G

GlobalLINK

I

Integral

IPC

iSAM Securities

p19

p5

IBC

p27

p42

OBC

p49

L

LMAX

Loop FX

LSEG

Lynq

M

Merge

MZX Liquidity

O

oneZero

P

PLUGIT

p34

p6

p25

p8

p54

p52

p57

p9

R

Rapid Addition

Reactive Markets

S

SGX FX

smartTrade Technologies

StoneX

Swissquote Bank

T

Tradealgo

TradingStack

p10

p32

p29

p47

p11

p7

p10

p10

4 AUGUST 2025 e-FOREX

AWARD WINNING LIQUIDITY

GLOBAL PRICING DISTRIBUTION

DATA CENTRES

NY4 LD4 SG3

www.FINALTO.com

Service available only to Professional clients and varies per jurisdiction

Trading involves significant risk of loss

Scan for more


LoopFX officially launches

LoopFX has officially launched as a time, anonymous, mid-rate matching.

live FX liquidity network, successfully This reduces information leakage and

matching clients’ trades within State improves execution outcomes.

Street’s FX Connect, a market-leading

execution platform. It has proven that Blair Hawthorne, CEO and Founder of

its technology performs reliably in LoopFX says: “We have fully executed

live trading conditions, with clients agreements across 15 asset managers

executing real market risk through its and banks, with many set to match on

integrated dark pool. FX is the world’s Loop shortly. We’re especially grateful

largest financial market, yet finding the to State Street’s FX Connect; their

right counterparty without revealing support and collaboration have been

trading intent remains a key challenge, instrumental in enabling a smooth and

particularly for large orders. LoopFX timely rollout, we couldn’t have done

solves this problem by enabling real-

this without them. With strong early

adoption and growing momentum, we

are well-positioned to accelerate our

growth in the institutional FX market.”

Blair Hawthorne

OTP Bank joins CLSSettlement as a settlement member

NEWS

OTP Bank has joined CLSSettlement as

a settlement member. The Hungarian

credit institution is the second new

settlement member to join this

year, bringing the total number of

settlement members to 75. OTP Bank

is one of the largest commercial banks

in Hungary. It is part of OTP Group,

a recognized leading banking group

in the Central and Eastern European

region that is experiencing significant

growth and expansion. CLSSettlement

is recognized as the global standard

in FX settlement risk mitigation across

18 of the most traded currencies.

Lisa Danino-Lewis, Chief Growth

Lisa Danino-Lewis

Officer, CLS commented: “OTP Bank’s

decision to become a settlement

member reflects the broader trend

of financial institutions focusing on

mitigating FX settlement risk and

increasing efficiencies delivered

through multilateral netting.

Multilateral netting yields significant

liquidity benefits for CLS settlement

members, resulting in liquidity savings

of approximately 96%, enabling cash

flow to be available for other business

operations like trading and business

growth.”

Bloomberg BFIX expands Spot FX data sources

Bloomberg Index Services Limited

(BISL) has announced an agreement

with CME Group to include EBS

Market’s Spot FX transactions in its

Bloomberg FX Fixings (BFIX) offering.

Services Limited. “We’re very happy

to expand our distribution with CME

Group to capture a broader pool of

market liquidity which enhances the

benchmark.”

and transparent for global currency

markets.

“The trade data from a leading

primary market venue like EBS Market

will complement our benchmark and

strengthen the ability of banks to take

on larger orders developing from the

buyside on BFIX,” said Colin Gallagher,

BFIX Benchmark & Currency Indices

Product Manager, Bloomberg Index

The use of FX transaction data

improves the ability for market

participants to match BFIX, providing

greater efficiency gains and reducing

overall risk. The addition of EBS

Market transaction data strengthens

the objective of BFIX to provide FX

fixings that are reliable, representative

Colin Gallagher


LIQUIDITY

SOLUTIONS

THAT OPEN

NEW

HORIZONS

swissquote.com/institutional


ABEX integrates with Crossover Markets’ CROSSx ECN

ABEX has announced its integration

with Crossover Markets. The integration

provides ABEX clients with seamless

access to Crossover’s anonymous,

ultra-low latency, institutional-only

ECN, CROSSx. By combining ABEX

advanced agency execution algorithms

with CROSSx’s ultra-low-latency

infrastructure, clients gain unmatched

tick-to-order performance a critical

advantage as latency-sensitive trading

strategies become more prevalent in

digital asset markets. The partnership

also offers venue fungibility enabled

by Crossover’s credit intermediaries,

Hidden Road and BitGo’s Go Network,

allowing clients to buy on one venue,

sell on another as well as net settle,

thereby reducing counterparty risk and

enhancing capital efficiency. “We’re

excited to add another important

liquidity destination, as demand for

access to Crossover continues to grow

among our client base,” said Erkan

Kaya, CEO & Co-Founder at ABEX.

“Bringing together two best-in-class

infrastructures - one for matching

and one for algorithmic execution -

unlocks new levels of precision and

performance for the institutional

trading community and is yet another

example of the maturation of the

industry.”

Erkan Kaya

Lynq welcomes 15 additional institutional clients

NEWS

Lynq, the real-time, interest-bearing

settlement network for digital asset

firms, has announced its first 15

institutional clients that will be using

the platform. This major milestone

reflects a pivotal shift toward faster,

more transparent, and more efficient

post-trade settlement infrastructure

purpose-built for the digital asset

industry. These new users join Arca,

B2C2, FalconX, and Galaxy who began

using the platform in mid July. 1Konto,

Archax, Crypto.com , DV Chain,

FinchTrade, GCEX, GSR, JST Digital,

Nonco, STS Digital, and Wintermute,

among others, represent a cross-section

Jerald David

of leading digital asset market makers,

exchanges, OTC desks, and institutional

liquidity providers bringing significant

trading volume, operational expertise,

and network reach to Lynq’s growing

ecosystem. “It’s incredibly gratifying to

see such meaningful support from such

important digital asset firms—especially

having just launched the platform three

short weeks ago,” said Jerald David,

CEO of Lynq. “These institutions are

not only driving volume, they’re driving

the future of how capital should move

fast, secure, and interest-bearing”

iSAM Securities launches Parallax

iSAM Securities has announced the

launch of Parallax, a proprietary risk

share model designed to help brokers

unlock additional value from their

client flow through transparent,

performance-aligned risk sharing.

Developed in-house by iSAM

Securities’ experienced trading, quant,

and development teams, Parallax

enables brokers to share in both

the risk and reward of internalised

trading activity without investing in

costly risk infrastructure. Chris Twort,

Head of Trading at iSAM Securities

commented, “We have designed

Parallax in response to client demand

for greater transparency and stronger

collaboration in the typical risk share

model. Many brokers are left in the

dark when it comes to how their

flow is performing. With Parallax, this

is at the forefront of what we do,

providing clients with daily visibility

of performance, so they always know

exactly how much they’re earning

and why. We believe this level of

transparency has been missing from

existing risk share programs on the

market, and we strive to help our

clients overcome this.”

Chris Twort



Beeks launches Market Edge Intelligence AI solution

Beeks Financial Cloud Group has

launched Market Edge Intelligence,

the world’s first AI/Machine Learning

solution for passive monitoring of

capital markets data directly at the

network edge. This revolutionary

development brings real-time AI

analytics and predictive intelligence

capabilities directly to colocation

facilities, resulting in actionable insights

which bring substantial cost savings

and operational efficiencies to buyside

firms, brokers, market makers,

exchanges and venues.

Gordon McArthur, CEO at Beeks Group

said, “The launch of Market Edge

Intelligence is a major milestone

for the industry and a great example

of how Beeks is using AI to push

boundaries and transform market

infrastructure. Integrating AI directly

into the trading infrastructure at the

network edge is a significant innovation

as it enables high volume data, such

as market data to be analysed in realtime,

which is ideal for capital markets.

Market Edge Intelligence uses AI

to revolutionise passive monitoring,

enabling trading firms to monitor,

diagnose and optimise performance

before issues arise.”

Gordon McArthur

Rapid Addition partners with TradingStack.io

NEWS

Rapid Addition has announced a

partnership with TradingStack.io to

deliver institutional-grade connectivity

to global digital asset markets. Rapid

Addition’s scalable trading workflow

platform is capable of handling

thousands of client connections and

offers support for all versions of the

FIX protocol, including custom tags

and unique rules of engagement. The

partnership will enable TradingStack

to deliver high-performance FIX

connectivity as part of its trading

platform solutions to customers seeking

access to global digital markets. Mike

Powell, CEO, Rapid Addition, said:

Mike Powell

“As traditional capital markets firms

increasingly look to new trading and

investment opportunities offered by

cryptocurrencies and other digital

assets, integration with existing

infrastructure and systems is paramount

to cost optimisation and operational

efficiencies. We are therefore delighted

to work with TradingStack.io to integrate

our asset class agnostic platform with

their digital asset trading solutions,

providing our mutual customers with

faster time to market and seamless

connectivity to digital markets.”

TradeAlgo launches new mobile app

TradeAlgo has announced the launch

of its new mobile app on Apple’s

App Store, giving investors on-the-go

access to TradeAlgo’s core dashboard

and AI-driven market insights. An

Android version is pending approval

on Google Play. The first release

focuses on the essentials investors

use every day: quick visibility

into dashboards, watchlists and

summaries, plus mobile alerts to

keep users connected to the market.

Additional features will roll out with

rapid updates after launch.

“Our goal is simple: put TradeAlgo’s

intelligence in your pocket so you

never miss what matters,” said Carlos

Cruz, CEO of TradeAlgo. “This first

version delivers the core experience,

and we’ll ship improvements quickly

based on user feedback.”

“Mobile is where decisions happen,”

said Patrick McErlean, CTO at

TradeAlgo. “The app surfaces our AI

insights and market signals in a clean,

fast interface designed for real-time

use.”

Carlos Cruz



The FX market in 2025:

Future-proofing FX

INDUSTRY REPORT

The second research report from

LSEG FX in 2025 looks at trends in

technology spend, innovation and

next-gen solutions, managing liquidity

fragmentation and automating FX

workflows – all identified as important

themes by 400 FX professionals

globally.

This is a short teaser of the report,

which is due to be released in

September. Please scan the QR code [at

the end of this article] to be among the

first to receive ‘Future-proofing FX’ as

soon as it’s published.

KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS

INCLUDE:

Innovation and next-gen solutions like

APIs, algorithmic trading, AI / machine

learning and regulatory technology are

key.

• Asked to what extent certain

innovations or next-gen solutions

were going to be a priority within

their organisation in 2025, APIs and

connectivity was cited as a priority

by 46% of all respondents.

• These were of notably higher

Higher trading costs as a result of liquidity

fragmentation concern many respondents

importance to buy-side firms (51%)

than sell-side (36%).

• Algorithmic / high frequency trading

was cited by 45% of respondents

overall, with 44% citing AI and

machine learning and regulatory

technology.

MARKET FRAGMENTATION

CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE

FOR FX TRADING FIRMS

• Liquidity fragmentation has been

a central theme for the FX market

for many years, with 40% of

respondents seeing it as a focus

area.

• According to 37% of respondents

prioritising FX liquidity

fragmentation, the main challenge

Priority next-generation solutions

To what extent are the following a priority for your organisation in the next 12 months?

Challenges in managing liquidity fragmentation

What are the main challenges facing your organisation in managing the fragmentation of liquidity?

facing their organisations is the

higher cost of trading.

• 27% prioritised managing disparities

in data and information, but this

was a higher priority for the buy-side

(31%) than the sell-side (20%).

Scan this QR code to request the full

report as soon as it’s published:


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© 2022 Bloomberg L.P. 1841554 0522


FX traders, the

future belongs

to you!

MARKET COMMENTARY

Image by Shutterstock


MARKET COMMENTARY

Rahul Gupta, Senior Director, FX Products at CME Group explores the growing significance of FX

futures, now a foundational market for price discovery and risk transfer.

Rahul Gupta

The FX Futures market has often

intrigued the traditional OTC trader,

viewed as a parallel marketplace

with independent market interest

and risk, fascinating enough for

most to keep an eye on, but leaving

many not entirely sure of how to

participate in it. The last few years

have, however, seen a wave of change

coming through. Growing adoption

from buy-side and sell-side firms

alike has helped to further position

the FX futures marketplace to be

foundational for market price discovery

and risk transfer. A number of recent

FX liquidity and market structure

reports from leading bank participants

and financial institutions discuss

the now established presence of

Futures liquidity as part of the overall

infrastructure used for price discovery,

distribution and hedging of market

risk.*

Listed FX trading volumes, albeit a

part of the huge $7.5 trillion a day

global FX market, have seen multi-year

growth in recent times. CME Group’s

FX Futures and Options average daily

volume of ~$96 billion in H1 2025,

and an all-time highest single day

volume of $314 billion reached in

2024, exceeds many OTC FX venues

today. Aside from the headline

volume growth, what lends greater

significance to its Futures marketplace

is the diversity of participation and

the underlying transparency of trading

amidst a highly fragmented FX market.

Futures trading is active in a broad set

of over 50 currency pairs including

majors and emerging market pairs,

and among a comprehensive client

base of hedge funds, asset managers,

corporate, banks, proprietary trading

firms, retail brokers and commodity

trading advisors (CTAs) - making the

futures ecosystem more complete than

ever. When trading in a central limit

orderbook, liquidity begets liquidity,

and the compound effect of greater

client participation has resulted

in futures proving to be a reliable

liquidity pool for traders through

varying market conditions, highly

complementing the capabilities of the

OTC markets to provide traders with

trusted, deep liquidity as and when its

needed ** .

WHAT’S DRIVEN THE GROWTH

OF FX FUTURES?

FX futures transactions are centrally

cleared, mitigating counterparty

credit risk, without requiring market

participants to use bilateral credit

lines or ISDA documentation.

Since the implementation of

SACCR (standardized approach

to counterparty credit risk) in the

calculation of risk-weighted assets,

some market participants have had

to cope with increases in capital

requirements for trading FX derivatives,

especially with FX forwards, swaps

and options. However, firms trading

in cleared FX derivatives instead can

free up their bilateral credit lines,

and expect to reduce their capital

footprint, resulting in lower costs and

arguably better pricing.

Further, transparent and centralized

margining of positions allows for

efficiencies that relieve cost pressures

that have risen due to Uncleared

Margin Rules (UMR) for buyside

firms and for Banks who service

them. Centrally cleared FX futures

and options at CME Group are

provided with margin offsets between

currencies, tenors (i.e Sep vs Dec in the

same currency pair) and other cleared

instruments like U.S. Treasury and

SOFR futures traded at the Exchange.

For the deposit of initial margin,

market participants can choose from

a wide range of currencies and non

cash securities including government

bonds, treasuries, letters of credit,

gold and certain corporate bonds.

Variation margin, in quote currency of

the pair, is typically in USD to make

it more efficient from a funding and

processing perspective for customers

and FCMs.

NEED FOR STANDARDIZATION

AND TRANSPARENCY

The OTC FX market provides a great

deal of flexibility, with bilateral trading

facilitating transactions in a plethora

of currency pairs, with settlement

dates priced out to multiple years,

and a range of products supported

including spot, outright forwards,

swaps, options and complex derivative

structures. With a market so vast and

complex, a degree of standardization

is much needed for achieving

transparency and operational

efficiency. The Spot market achieves

this to a certain extent, and has been

increasingly well complemented by

the growing Futures marketplace for

derivatives trading. FX futures contracts


FX traders, the future belongs to you!

Source: CME Group

of last look or order rejects, making

the liquidity interaction simpler and

transparent. They allow for any market

participant to place resting orders,

and in doing so trade passively (earn

the bid-offer spread cost), or aggress

and consume firm liquidity, effectively

creating a cleaner and transparent

mode of risk transfer.

MARKET COMMENTARY

Source: CME Group

Exchange traded FX Average daily volumes and Open interest in June 2025. Source Futures Industry Association

(FIA) . Converted from contracts to equivalent million USD notional using month end exchange rates.

are structured and standardized -

typically trading to fixed monthly and

quarterly (IMM) settlement dates.

Trading in standardized contracts has

allowed for liquidity to concentrate

and build up in fixed tenors (often

IMM dated), ultimately leading

to increased efficiency for market

participants. Using futures liquidity,

market participants can either trade

the outrights directly, or trade the

calendar spreads between two listed

dates (September versus December for

example).

The proliferation of OTC FX venues

and distribution of electronic pricing

in modern times has also led to an

increased need for establishing a

market standard that is transparent

and reliable. FX futures and listed

options central limit orderbooks

(CLOBs) facilitate anonymous order

to order matching, with no concept

On March 5, 2025, open interest (OI) in CME Group FX futures and options hit a record 3.73 million contracts,

representing ~$347.5 billion in notional value

BREAKING BARRIERS TO ENTRY:

BRINGING THE FX MARKET

TOGETHER

FX futures enable segregation of credit

from liquidity interaction, allows for

equal, all-to-all order-based trading on

its central limit orderbook (CLOB), and

provides market data and information

that is accessible to everyone. The large

network of Futures clearing members

(FCMs) supporting access and a global

footprint of client coverage at CME

Group has led to new entrants to the

FX futures marketplace incrementally

over the last few years. The ecosystem

has grown by leaps and bounds to

include global and regional banks,

hedge funds, asset managers,

corporate and retail accounts, to a

total of ~1,100 global entities having

traded its FX futures and options in

2024.

FX futures contracts at CME Group are

designed to be as fungible to OTC as

possible, with most of the contracts

requiring physical delivery in line with

the OTC market and leveraging the

main cycle of CLS (where applicable),

and others are cash settled to market

standard benchmarks. This means that

on settlement of a deliverable futures

contract like EURUSD for example,

Euros and US dollars are paid and

received on T+2 basis in line with

OTC standards. For a non-deliverable

currency like Brazilian Real (BRL), the

futures contract on settlement is cash

settled in US dollars based on the BRL

PTAX rate provided by the central bank

of Brazil, in line with OTC convention.


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FX traders, the future belongs to you!

Source: CME Group

CME FX Spot+ provides OTC users access to FX Futures liquidity, makes OTC liquidity available to FX Futures participants, creates new incentives to participate in FX Link, and

increases the value of EBS connectivity/sessions

MARKET COMMENTARY

The development and growth of unique

tools like FX Link (tradeable spot to

futures basis) has further bridged the

liquidity between futures and OTC

markets, enabling traders to manage

risk interchangeably and seamlessly. FX

Link services multiple use-cases, one of

which is enabling market participants

to move their OTC Spot risk to cleared

futures (to achieve margin and capital

efficiencies), and vice versa, effectively

operating a ‘live’ Spot-to-Futures basis

marketplace. It is increasingly seen as

a complementary source of OTC FX

swap liquidity with firm, transparent

pricing that is tradeable through a

credit-agnostic, anonymous, all-to-all

marketplace.

Serving the established demand for

bilateral trading in the FX marketplace,

and facilitating greater flexibility of

trading, there has been an increased

adoption for Blocks and EFRPs (Exchange

for related position) as well. Positions

in outright futures, calendar spreads

and options can be established through

the mechanism of Blocks and EFRPs

too, complementing the otherwise

execution via central limit orderbooks.

Through Blocks, clients can privately

negotiate and trade cleared FX futures

and options with chosen counterparties

(liquidity providers) for listed contracts

at a risk-transfer price. With the EFRP

route, market participants can establish

FX positions through traditional OTC

workflows or already hold an existing

OTC risk, and then move those to central

clearing. A greater number of marketmaking

banks seem to have overcome

the operational challenges of adapting

to the newer technologies and processes

here, and invested in integrating end-toend

workflows to service the growing

buyside demand. Twenty-three firms

facilitated a block and/or EFRP of FX

futures or options at CME Group in

2024, with the list including the top tier

investment banks as well as non-bank

liquidity providers (LPs).

SPOT TRADERS, DON’T GO

CHANGING

Capital and operational efficiencies

aside, the FX futures central limit

orderbook at CME Group has grown

to be significant enough even

purely from a liquidity standpoint.

Amidst a highly fragmented and

complex FX market, traders value the

additional liquidity that is available

in a centralized, transparent all-to-all

marketplace of futures, but may not

want to trade outright dates or have

the necessary infrastructure to book

and risk-manage futures.

To cater to this demand, and taking

another leap towards building liquidity

bridges, CME Group launched FX

Spot+ on April 13, 2025, a new all-toall

spot FX marketplace that translates

futures liquidity into spot terms and

vice versa, expanding liquidity access

to OTC traders and bringing the two

markets together like never before. A

spot trader can continue to trade the

Betty, the Loonie or the Bill and Ben,

book and settle transactions in spot FX

(with a central FX spot counterpart),

while seamlessly interacting with the

liquidity implied from and to our FX

futures. This is made possible through

using the live tradeable basis risk

from the FX Link orderbook, with

implication happening both ways in

the background. By building a unique,

global network of market participants,

connecting the vast trading

communities of EBS spot platforms

and FX futures marketplace built over

the years, FX Spot+ is set to unlock the

real value of bringing the FX market

together.

*References

The Brilliant World of FX - A primer - Deutsche bank

https://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/RPS_ENPROD/

PROD0000000000542285/The_Brilliant_World_of_FX_-_A_Primer.PDF

&realload=fTYB2BN4sXhafIy/9poFBQclemyQSA6Q~dYUazrwzvUFEkXJ

NTYQYt3C/N6sBLnb

The foreign exchange market - BIS

https://www.bis.org/publ/work1094.htm

FX Markets and FX interventions - BIS

https://www.bis.org/publ/mc_240314.pdf

eFX ‘Explainers’ - FX venues - HSBC

https://www.gbm.hsbc.com/en-gb/insights/market-and-regulatoryinsights/efx-explainers

** https://www.cmegroup.com/articles/2025/fx-traders-lovers-of-thelight.html


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SPECIAL REPORT



SPECIAL REPORT

Vivek Shankar

How electronic

platforms are

rewriting Emerging

Market FX hierarchies

By Vivek Shankar


How electronic platforms are rewriting Emerging Market FX hierarchies

SPECIAL REPORT

“We have reached a point where, from an electronic

perspective, some onshore markets are now more sophisticated

than what we see in G10.”

Simon Jones

FX in emerging markets is experiencing

a fundamental transformation, as

traditional barriers to access are

dissolving thanks to technological

innovation. The last BIS Triennial Survey

noted that while global FX markets

hit a record $7.5 trillion average daily

turnover in April 2022, EM has a more

complex story.

Derivatives were dominating trading

activity, volumes spiked during periods

of volatility, and electronic platforms

are reshaping how institutions access

currencies that were once the exclusive

domain of specialized traders.

The latest guidance on the 2025 Triennial

Survey notes that for the first time in 15

years, FX trading volumes contracted

between two consecutive Surveys,

making the emergence and growth

in EM electronic trading even more

significant.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury

noted in November 2024 that Mexico,

Brazil, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, South

Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand,

and Malaysia are among the largest

EM contributors to global FX volume

growth. EM FX centers like Singapore

and (to a lesser extent) London report

record or near-record volumes in

regional EM currency pairs, especially

in derivatives like NDFs, forwards, and

local-currency swaps.

Simon Jones, Global Head of Product

& Liquidity, FX at LSEG, captures this

evolution. “I think ‘Emerging’, in many

cases, is now an outdated term to use.

We have reached a point where, from

an electronic perspective, some onshore

markets are now more sophisticated

than what we see in G10.”

The proliferation of ECNs, combined

with increased participation from

non-bank financial institutions, is

fundamentally reshaping market

structure. What were once fragmented,

relationship-dependent markets are

evolving into transparent, electronicallydriven

ecosystems where algorithms

compete alongside traditional expertise.

TECHNOLOGY DRIVES CHANGE

The EM growth story comes with

important caveats. Trading remains

highly concentrated in currencies like

the Brazilian real, South African rand,

and Chinese renminbi. In contrast,

many smaller EM currencies still

struggle with shallow liquidity that can

evaporate during market stress.

The relationship between volatility

and volume, typically positive during

normal conditions, can turn sharply

negative when extreme uncertainty

causes participants to withdraw from

the market entirely. It’s against this

backdrop of uneven but accelerating

change that technology is playing an

increasingly decisive role.

Arijit Ganguly, Head of Asia EM eFX

Trading & Asia NDF at Deutsche Bank,

observes, “One of the key changes has

been the rise of several ECNs from a

primarily two a couple of years back.

More players came to the market, and

each wanted to be the first to debut a

new currency pair, bringing liquidity to

EM pairs.”

This competitive dynamic among ECNs

has altered market access. Where

institutions once faced limited options

for electronic execution, they now

navigate an ecosystem where platforms

compete aggressively to expand

currency coverage and attract liquidity

providers.

EM trading remains highly concentrated in currencies like the Brazilian real, South African rand, and Chinese renminbi

On the sell side, firms are responding

with increasingly sophisticated tools.

Chris Matsko, Senior Managing

Director and GlobalLINK Head of FX

and TCA Platforms at State Street,


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“In case of emerging markets e-FX can allow for execution for

transactions outside the normal trading hours of the market,”

liquidity, as participants and regulators

have worked in partnership to embrace

the benefits of electronic trading.”

gain a competitive edge.”

This regulatory collaboration has proven

crucial. Rather than viewing electronic

Meanwhile Vinay Trivedi, COO sellside

solutions at SGX FX, notes that

“by leveling the playing field, SGX

FX has made EM currency trading

more efficient and cost-effective for

participants of all sizes.” The platform

innovation as a threat to oversight,

forward-thinking regulators have

recognized technology’s potential to

enhance market transparency and risk

management.

SPECIAL REPORT

Arijit Ganguly

notes that “firms are setting themselves

apart with Executable Streaming Prices

(ESPs), offering tighter pricing bands

for EM currencies. This approach can

help reduce market impact and enable

effective risk management without

revealing trade execution details.”

The technical infrastructure supporting

this expansion has evolved in parallel.

“Access to liquidity was also simplified

through standard FIX APIs for electronic

users and screens for voice users,”

Ganguly explains. “The market moved

away from having a single ECN screen

to internal aggregators to participate in

trading on multiple platforms. All this

meant more players, especially banks,

could easily access liquidity in electronic

form.”

This shift from single-platform

dependency to aggregated access

has democratized participation. Banks

that previously lacked the resources

achieves this “by aggregating liquidity

from a broad network of international

and domestic banks, non-bank liquidity

providers and regional players in Asia

and Latin America, we can offer deeper

and diverse liquidity pools, competitive

pricing and reliable execution.”

The transformation has been driven

equally by demand-side pressures.

“On the client side, the demand for

electronic liquidity had been rising

ever since the pandemic and there

was a push from asset managers and

corporate to consume liquidity in EM

the same way in G10 FX,” Ganguly

notes. “Execution would be smoother,

transparent, and operationally more

efficient.”

Responding to this institutional

demand, banks and multi-bank

platforms began systematically

adding EM currency pairs to their

electronic offerings. The result, as

Ganguly describes it, is that “electronic

platforms built bridges of fast moving

liquidity connecting various players of

the ecosystem together driving the rise

of participants.”

“As a result, there is better data and a

better understanding of where risks in

the market truly lie,” Jones explains.

These technological foundations have

created the infrastructure necessary for

more sophisticated trading strategies

and risk management approaches.

THE NDF EVOLUTION

The transformation of non-deliverable

forward trading is one of the most

significant developments reshaping EM

access. What was once a niche product

confined to specialized players has

evolved into a mainstream instrument

that rivals onshore counterparts in both

volume and sophistication.

The shift has been driven partly by

regulatory changes that have opened

previously restricted markets to new

participants. “In the case of India,

domestic banks were given access to

the NDFs—the rush of new players

to the market increased turnover and

liquidity,” Ganguly explains. “I expect

we will continue to see a steady phase

of deregulation where we could

see other countries allow onshore

participation in offshore NDF markets.”

or relationships to access specialized

EM trading venues can now connect

electronically to multiple liquidity

sources simultaneously.

This is particularly beneficial for regional

banks that, as Matsko observes,

can “leverage their expertise and

technology in specific EM currencies to

Some markets have embraced this

technological evolution to an extent

where they now match developed

market standards. LSEG’s Jones

points to the Indian rupee as a prime

example:

“Markets like INR have seen a rapid rise

in electronic adoption, leading to more

transparency and as a result deeper

Korea provides another compelling

example of how regulatory evolution

can unlock market access. “Under

the new RFI scheme, offshore banks

have been allowed to access the main

interbank liquidity pool for spot which

had been hitherto restricted to onshore

players,” Ganguly notes.


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“The electronification of non-deliverables is leading to a

reduction in the fragmentation of these markets, leading to

more standardization and ultimately a reduction in risk when

trading EM currencies.”

structure. “The electronification of nondeliverables

is leading to a reduction

in the fragmentation of these markets,

leading to more standardization and

ultimately a reduction in risk when

trading EM currencies.”

previously needed to establish bilateral

credit relationships with multiple

counterparties, a time-consuming

and resource-intensive process, they

can now access anonymous liquidity

pools through standardized clearing

arrangements.

SGX is a good example. Trivedi says

that “SGX FX offers one of the largest

multi-dealer platforms for NDFs

alongside its ECN SGX CurrencyNode,

providing buy-side and sell-side market

participants with the deepest streaming

liquidity in the NDF market.”

SPECIAL REPORT

Chris Matsko

Perhaps more transformative has been

the emergence of central clearing

mechanisms that have eliminated

traditional barriers to participation.

“The model on central clearing has

emerged where players can use

an Exchange or a Central Clearer

to trade NDFs. Bilateral credit is no

longer needed and access to a cleared

anonymous pool of liquidity means

new player have been added to the

market,” Ganguly observes.

This infrastructure change has

fundamentally altered the economics

of NDF trading. Where institutions

The technological infrastructure

supporting this evolution has had to

keep pace with growing institutional

demands. Matsko emphasizes that

“platforms are improving access to

these markets by supporting NDFs

across all features and trading styles. As

NDF electronification progresses, fully

enabling non-deliverables becomes

more essential.”

ELECTRONIC PLATFORMS

ARE ALSO ENABLING MORE

SOPHISTICATED EXECUTION

STRATEGIES WHILE

ADDRESSING UNIQUE EM

CHALLENGES

The data and analytics capabilities that

accompany electronic NDF trading have

proven equally important for market

development. “Providing robust pretrade

and post-trade data and analytics

is crucial in making these less liquid

markets more accessible,” Matsko notes.

Matsko says this comprehensive

approach to NDF electronification is

yielding measurable results in market

He explains that “market participants

benefit from reduced execution costs

and enhanced price discovery across

various EM currencies, resulting

in narrower spreads and a lower

traditional EM liquidity premium.”

The scope of this transformation

extends well beyond operational

improvements. “NDFs are no longer

an exotic product relegated to niche

players—with recent changes volumes

have surged to rival their onshore

counterparts,” Ganguly notes.

This evolution in NDF markets has

created a foundation for broader

changes in how institutions approach

emerging market currencies,

particularly in terms of pricing

transparency and execution costs.

ADVANCED EXECUTION AND

MARKET ACCESS

Electronic platforms are also enabling

more sophisticated execution

strategies while addressing unique EM

challenges. Beyond basic connectivity

improvements, institutions now have

access to execution tools designed

specifically for the liquidity constraints

and volatility patterns that characterize

EM currencies.

Algorithmic execution has emerged as

particularly valuable for managing the

pace of large trades in markets where

liquidity can fluctuate dramatically.


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Exp: 05/31/2026



“Fragmented EM markets become manageable when

everything - execution, risk management and reporting - is

unified in one workflow.”

and client behavior across markets

then quickly relay digestible insights—

means EM traders can make timely

decisions in fast-moving environments.

Perhaps most significantly, electronic

Vinay Trivedi

This aggregation capability has proven

especially important in emerging

markets where liquidity providers

may be scattered across different

venues and time zones. “Banks can

anonymously match their interests on

Mid Matching venues with minimal

cost and information leakage,” Ganguly

observes, describing how electronic

platforms are creating new ways for

institutions to interact with each other.

“Major exchanges now offer cleared

platforms are eliminating the

geographic and temporal constraints

that have traditionally limited EM

trading. “In case of emerging markets

e-FX can allow for execution for

transactions outside the normal trading

hours of the market,” Ganguly explains.

“Clients no longer need to invest in

regional treasury centres or trade

outside their normal hours simply to

execute during the local market hours.”

SPECIAL REPORT

“The rise of Algo execution on

electronic platforms offers smoother

execution with greater control to

clients—pace of execution can be

controlled to match market liquidity

which is quite important for EM

currencies where liquidity can fluctuate

a lot,” Ganguly explains.

The technology goes beyond individual

FX Futures in EM currencies, attracting

a new segment of liquidity providers

beyond the traditional banking sector,”

Ganguly continues.

Matsko observes that “As with earlier

algorithmic advancements, there is

initial skepticism over cost but broader

adoption is expected as EM markets

continue to expand.”

This capability is relevant for

institutional investors managing crossasset

strategies. “This feature minimizes

slippage when a client is transacting

in a financial asset with an underlying

FX exposure—an US asset manager

can now transact the FX at the same

time they are buying a bond without

having to wait for the FX fill next day,”

Ganguly notes.

trade management to comprehensive

liquidity aggregation. “Platforms can

aggregate liquidity across various

providers providing clients with a clear

idea of the depth of market when

executing large trades. Liquidity, which

was fractured, across players can be

brought together much easily for an

efficient market,” he notes.

“For currencies which are less liquid or

traditionally fragmented,” Trivedi notes,

“SGX FX’s centralised and transparent

marketplace supports the execution

of larger trades with minimal market

impact.”

The technological approach extends to

risk management, where “fragmented

EM markets become manageable

when everything -- execution, risk

management and reporting -- is unified

in one workflow,” Trivedi explains.

Trivedi notes that “SGX FX’s platform

minimises operational risk in volatile

EM markets by automating workflows

and integrating straight-through

processing (STP).” The platform also

provides sophisticated analytics

capabilities. “One example is our

Liquidity Provision Analysis (LPA)

product which we pioneered several

years ago. What’s compelling about

our solution is that it provides realtime

and historical spread data for

EM pairs, allowing clients to visualise

and analyse their liquidity,” Trivedi

explains. MaxxAI, the AI-driven

analytics tool developed by SGX FX

via MaxxTrader is especially impactful

for improving efficiency in Emerging

Market (EM) FX trading, says Trivedi. FX

markets are marked by volatility, lower

liquidity, and nuanced microstructure

differences. MaxxAI’s ability to detect

anomalies, execution quality variances,

“Prices in onshore markets can be

sourced in certain markets almost

twenty-four hours a day electronically

with automated booking,” he adds.

Trivedi confirms this extended access

capability at SGX. “SGX FX supports

continuous trading, including

extended hours that align with

global and regional market activity.

This enables clients to manage EM

currency exposure and capitalise on

opportunities even beyond traditional

local market hours.”

INNOVATION PIPELINE AND

PARTNERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Given the way technology is changing

EM trading, institutions are preparing

for the next wave of product

innovation. However, success requires

the right technological and advisory

partnerships.


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able to provide round the clock support

in pricing, making sure liquidity is

available at the time of dealing.”

The advisory dimension distinguishes

truly effective partnerships from

simple technology providers. “An EM

e-FX partner should go well beyond a

liquidity provider, providing expertise on

local market solutions and liquidity as

needed by the client,” Ganguly says.

SPECIAL REPORT

Forward-thinking regulators have recognized technology’s potential to enhance market transparency and risk management

The options market represents a “Algo execution, a popular product in

significant opportunity for electronic liquid markets, will probably find its way

transformation. Matsko observes that into EM currencies and maybe even

“a significant segment of the asset restricted markets as electronic liquidity

management industry currently uses increases,” he predicts.

foreign exchange (FX) options strategies

for EM hedging, though these

As these technological capabilities

processes are often manual and lack develop, the importance of choosing

transparency.” The readiness for change the right partners becomes critical.

is evident he says: “Discussions with Ganguly also emphasizes that successful

leading global asset managers indicate EM e-FX partnerships require more than

a strong readiness to adopt electronic just connectivity. “Firms should look

FX options trading workflows, provided for market participants with a large

that the appropriate platform solutions market coverage. In the case of EM this

are available.”

sometimes means seamless access to

the local market as well as the offshore

The technical infrastructure for this market.”

transition already exists in adjacent

markets, Matsko says. “Electronic FX The regulatory complexity of emerging

options toolsets closely mirror existing markets also demands partners with

request-for-stream workflows used deep local expertise. LSEG’s Jones

in traditional FX trading. Adoption is explains, “Local presence, onshore

expected to accelerate once suitable expertise and working in collaboration

technological solutions are integrated with the Central Bank, regulators and

into trading operations.”

onshore banks to understand their

requirements has been key to success in

Swaps are another area where

our most thriving markets.”

electronic adoption is gaining

momentum. “Swaps have already Operational reliability has added

taken the first step and there are importance in emerging markets where

e-platforms offering liquidity in Swaps liquidity can be unpredictable. “Liquidity

in EM currencies—this trend probably and pricing is important, but consistency

accelerates as transparency and

is perhaps more important as liquidity

electronification slowly moves this can be ephemeral under stress in

market away from OTC onto electronic Emerging Markets,” Ganguly notes.

platforms,” Ganguly notes.

“Where possible, a partner should be

Trivedi outlines specific criteria firms

should evaluate. “When choosing an

EM e-FX trading provider, firms should

look for: EM liquidity, technological

leadership, platform reliability, security,

and integration capabilities, and

compliance tools to keep firms ahead of

evolving regulations.”

He also notes that continuous

innovation and comprehensive analytics

and support are critical success factors to

screen for when evaluating a platform.

THE NEW EM REALITY

Given these advances, the innovation

pipeline in emerging market FX

promises far more advances. FX options

workflows are poised for electronic

adoption, and algorithmic strategies

will expand into previously restricted

markets.

The institutions that will benefit

most from this evolution are those

that recognize technology alone is

insufficient. Success in electronicallyenabled

emerging markets still requires

the deep local expertise, regulatory

knowledge, and market relationships

that have always characterized effective

EM trading.

The difference is that these capabilities

can now be delivered through

scalable, transparent, and operationally

efficient electronic channels, creating

opportunities for market participants

willing to adapt their strategies to

capitalize on capabilities that are

reshaping global FX markets.


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Establishing transparency

standards for FX trading

technology providers

By Henry Durrant, CRO at Reactive Markets

for establishing meaningful standards,

based on the same framework and

THE CASE FOR TRANSPARENCY

IN TRADING TECHNOLOGY

open data sharing model we deploy at

Reactive Markets for our clients today.

The disparity in accountability

STANDARDS

Henry Durrant

The vast majority of FX trading volume

is now traded via electronic channels,

where buy-side clients and sell-side

liquidity providers lean heavily on these

technology providers to efficiently

execute trillions of dollars a day in the

world’s most liquid market. While these

buy-side clients and liquidity providers

(LPs) are subject to stringent market

standards and regulations around

execution behaviour and performance,

technology providers typically operate

with little to no transparency regarding

their internal platform performance,

despite this being a leading factor

influencing execution performance

and transaction cost for end clients.

This article explores the need for

industry-wide transparency in

technology performance, outlines the

key principles of fair and open data

sharing, and proposes a framework

TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE

Foreign exchange trading has become

increasingly reliant on electronic

trading platforms. These platforms

serve as the conduit for buy-side firms

and LPs to interact with the market

efficiently.

However, while market participants

become increasingly aware of the

impact of explicit execution costs

such as transaction fees and bid/offer

spreads, there is currently no effective

way for these firms to quantify the

implicit, hidden costs of technology

performance across different solutions.

This results in an opaque ecosystem

where clients have little visibility into

the technology they depend on for

execution quality, and no way to

compare across different solutions to

understand who best fits their needs.

At Reactive Markets, we believe that

transparency should be a fundamental

principle for technology providers.

By sharing standardised, verifiable

platform metrics clients are able to

understand the impact their technology

partner is having on their execution

performance, enhancing trust and

increasing accountability for all market

participants.

• The Global Code of FX Conduct

establishes best practices for liquidity

providers and buy-side firms,

ensuring fairness, transparency, and

efficient market functioning.

• However, trading technology

providers are not held to these same

standards.

• This creates an imbalance where

clients rely on opaque systems

without clear insight into

performance metrics such as latency,

throughput, and system reliability.

The Black Box model

• Many trading technology providers

operate as “black boxes”, offering

little to no insight into their internal

performance.

• Clients must take execution quality

on faith, with no independent

verification of latency, data

processing speeds, or failure

recovery mechanisms.

• This lack of transparency can lead

to inefficiencies, hidden costs, and,

in many cases, degraded execution

quality especially during volatile,

high data frequency periods.

The benefits of transparency

• Improved Execution Quality

Clients can make informed decisions

about the technology they use,


STANDARDS

ensuring they meet execution

requirements.

• Accountability and Fair Competition

Transparent reporting levels the playing

field, enabling fair competition among

technology providers.

• Enhanced Trust and Confidence

Market participants gain confidence

in the integrity and reliability of

electronic trading infrastructure.

PROPOSED TRANSPARENCY

STANDARDS FOR FX

TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS

To address these challenges, we

propose the adoption of a standardised

framework for transparency in FX

trading technology. This framework

includes:

1. Performance metrics

Based on our own internal performance

benchmarks and data sharing

standards, we suggest the following

metrics should be transparent to all

users of a given technology provider:

Market data latency: the total time

taken from when a liquidity provider’s

quote enters the network to when it

is delivered to a taker client, capturing

the full end-to-end internal processing,

measured in microseconds. This includes

all stages of internal market data

handling such as:

• Network ingress (receipt of the quote

from the LP at the network edge)

• Internal processing (including

any normalisation, validation,

enrichment, filtering, and routing

through any pricing or aggregation

logic),

• Network egress (sending the quote

out of the network to the subscribed

client).

Order processing latency: the total

time elapsed from the point at which

a taker client submits an order and it

enters the platform’s infrastructure,

to the point at which that order is

transmitted out to the targeted liquidity

provider, measured in microseconds.

This measurement captures all internal

processing, including:

• Network ingress (receipt of the

client’s order)

• Order validation, enrichment, and

routing within our systems

• Network egress (transmission of the

order to the selected LP)

Market data throughput: refers to the

volume of quote updates processed

by the Reactive Markets platform over

time, representing the system’s capacity

to handle and distribute high-frequency

market data. It is measured in updates

per second and includes:

• All quote updates received from

liquidity providers across all FIX

sessions and data centres, in all

currency pairs and products.

2. Standardized reporting formats

• Performance metrics should be

reported in a standardised format

to enable easy comparison between

providers.

• Standardized APIs should be

developed to allow clients to

directly access performance data for

independent validation.

3. Independent verification and

certification

“BY IMPLEMENTING

STANDARDIZED

PERFORMANCE REPORTING

AND FOSTERING INDUSTRY-

WIDE ACCOUNTABILITY,

WE CAN CREATE A MORE

EFFICIENT, FAIR AND

TRUSTWORTHY ELECTRONIC

TRADING ENVIRONMENT.”

• A third-party verification process

should be established to ensure

that technology providers accurately

report their performance metrics.

• Reactive Markets deploys Corvil

Analytics for this purpose, a 3rd

party latency monitoring and

reporting solution.

CONCLUSION

Transparency in FX trading technology

is long overdue. While liquidity

providers and buy-side firms operate

under well-defined standards, the

technology that underpins their

trading activities remains largely

opaque. By implementing standardized

performance reporting and fostering

industry-wide accountability, we

can create a more efficient, fair,

and trustworthy electronic trading

environment.

At Reactive Markets, we are committed

to leading this charge. By setting an

example in transparency and advocating

for industry-wide adoption, we believe

that FX market participants will benefit

from greater efficiency, improved

execution quality, and stronger trust

in the technology that powers their

trading.

We invite all stakeholders to join us in

this initiative to bring transparency to

FX trading technology and establish

a new benchmark for performance

accountability.


THE E-FOREX INTERVIEW

Jay Moore


THE e-FOREX INTERVIEW

Talking with one of the

true innovators in FX

Jay Moore, Global Head of Swaps and Derivative Products at LMAX Group, has spent over 20 years

building products in FX risk management and has a track record of creating innovative currency

hedging solutions for institutional investors. He co-founded FX HedgePool the award-winning

FinTech company which was acquired by LMAX Group last year so e-Forex caught up with him to

learn more about that deal and where his new operational role may take him as he enters the next

stage of a remarkable career.

Jay, FX HedgePool was acquired by

LMAX Group in 2024. Why was it

such a good fit?

The fit between FX HedgePool (FXHP)

and LMAX Group was as natural

as it was strategic. Since founding

FXHP in 2019, we had carved out a

unique space in the market, focused

on solving real structural challenges

for the buy-side through innovation,

transparency and modern technology.

Meanwhile, LMAX Group had built an

enviable FX and digital assets business

with a reputation for delivering

reliable, high-performance execution

across a broad range of market

participants.

on building the leading global crossasset

marketplace.

How important was a shared vision

of how to bring about a new FX

ecosystem and set new standards

for transparency, fairness and

efficiency?

That shared vision was the

foundation of the deal. Both

companies deeply believed in

creating a more inclusive and

efficient FX marketplace—one that

doesn’t just replicate old models

with faster technology, but rethinks

how markets should work for

the modern, institutional trader.

Transparency, fairness and efficiency

weren’t just buzzwords, they were

mutual guiding principles and an

alignment of purpose.

Our strengths were highly

complementary: we brought deep

expertise in FX swaps, buy-side

connectivity and trader workflow

solutions, while LMAX Group

brought scale, market breadth,

industry leading technology and

infrastructure, and a robust regulatory

footprint. From the outset, the match

wasn’t just about expanding the FX

offering, it was about reshaping how

institutional participants operate and

access the market. We’re laser focused

LMAX Group had built an enviable FX and digital assets business with a reputation for

delivering reliable, high-performance execution across a broad range of market participants


Talking with one of the true innovators in FX


Electronification in swaps is gaining momentum and we believe it’s about to accelerate

Together, with our collaborative

approach to product development,

we’ve established deep, trusted

relationships within the market. With

the power of LMAX Group firmly

behind this shared philosophy, we are

rapidly expanding across FX products

and client segments, positioning

ourselves as a leader in FX and digital

assets as the market matures and

regulatory frameworks continue to

evolve.

This alignment is why the acquisition

wasn’t just about technology or

product—it was about combining

cultural DNA.

What about the FX HedgePool

community and the existing

institutional client base of

LMAX Group. How have they

complemented one another?

The combination of both businesses

has ultimately broadened the Group’s

institutional reach. FXHP was born out of

a deep understanding of the buy-side,

their operational pain points, regulatory

pressures and the fiduciary obligations

they owe to their investors. LMAX Group

has long served the needs of banks,

brokers, hedge funds and proprietary

trading firms, with an expanded buy-side

focus that began with its acquisition of

Cürex back in 2023.

Bringing the buy-side and sell-side

together enables more holistic liquidity

solutions, bridging market participants

who previously operated in separate

silos. It’s helping us close long-standing

structural gaps in FX trading, creating

enormous potential for unlocking

liquidity and delivering tailored solutions

that meet the evolving needs of both

sides of the market. This combination

also strengthens the Group’s position

as the go-to venue for institutions

managing multi-asset risk—whether in

FX or crypto—through a single, secure

platform.

The Group has consolidated its

FX brands under LMAX Exchange

and shifted to a centralised global

sales and product coverage model.

What benefits does that bring to its

proposition and simplifying client

access to its entire suite of FX products

from your perspective?

By consolidating our FX product suite

under the LMAX Exchange umbrella and

augmenting the global sales and product

coverage model, we removed complexity

and added clarity to our client proposition

as we continue to build a complete FX

offering. The changes are delivering on

the overarching Group vision of building

the leading cross-asset marketplace –



capturing all major client segments,

offering a representative multi-asset

product suite and ensuring consistent,

seamless coverage across the globe.

Aligning the sales and product teams

under a single strategy provides the

framework to engage with our clients

as a solutions-minded partner that’s

fully aligned with their unique needs.

This ongoing engagement ensures that

our solutions evolve in direct response to

market demand.

Please tell us a little about your

position and the operational role

you are playing?

I’m focused on breaking further into

the swaps and forwards markets

while becoming a highly relevant

solutions provider to the buy-side.

Forwards and swaps alone account

for approximately 75 percent of total

FX volumes, presenting a significant

opportunity for us to capture. Pair that

with the buy-side, which makes up an

estimated 20 percent of the total FX

market, and it’s clear why these are

cornerstones of our FX strategy.

My role sits at the intersection of

client engagement, product innovation

and commercial strategy. It’s about

identifying where the market is

headed, shaping products around Absolutely. Our best ideas have

those trends and ensuring we continue always come from listening – really

to deliver highly differentiated

listening – to what clients need. We

solutions. Whether we’re building FX have always prioritised these needs by

solutions or envisioning workflows focusing on innovative, transparent

for digital assets, the common

Richard Elston

and efficient execution solutions. We

denominator is a relentless focus on achieve this through a combination

simplifying access and making markets of proprietary technology, rules-based

work better for the buy-side.

trading solutions and a commitment

to open access and fair execution for

What range of products are you and all participants.

your team responsible for?

We continue to work closely with

While we are responsible for the the world’s largest buy-side firms

FX swaps and forwards product and liquidity providers to ensure that

lines, our remit extends beyond that what we create addresses real pain

into broader buy-side solutions. points. Whether it’s reducing liquidity

We’re focused on leveraging credit constraints, simplifying workflows,

intermediation, liquidity access, or enhancing execution quality, our

analytics and workflow solutions to approach is the same: prototype, goto-market,

deliver an end-to-end FX ecosystem

scale.

explicitly designed for the buy-side.

Product development begins and ends

Our products also act as the

with the client. At LMAX Group we

foundation for enabling the buy-side have a large platform to engage with

to participate in crypto markets with clients early and often and then move

the same efficiency they expect in FX. quickly to deliver.

A deep collaboration with clients How much potential is there for

has always been an essential

growing the global client base of

ingredient of your product

the products you are responsible

development and success. Do you for? What’s likely to be the next

expect that to continue to ensure focus of your team’s attention

your solutions are practical, relevant when it comes to developing and

and truly beneficial?

launching new ones?



“WE BELIEVE THAT

INNOVATION IN CREDIT,

PAIRED WITH WORKFLOW-

INTEGRATED PLATFORMS,

WILL BE THE SINGLE

MOST CRUCIAL FACTOR

IN RESHAPING LIQUIDITY

PROVISION OVER THE NEXT

DECADE”




The potential is massive. The

institutional appetite for efficient,

transparent and integrated workflow

solutions continues to grow,

particularly in the FX swaps space,

where traditional models remain

costly, restrictive and operationally

complex.

In terms of product focus, we’re in the

process of delivering a new categorydefining

service that will solve many

operational headaches for clients and

ultimately optimise liquidity. It will

benefit both the buy-side and the

sell-side.

For the first time, buy-side firms

will be able to access pricing in full

amounts from top-tier LPs, regardless

of credit coverage – enabled by credit

intermediation. This ensures consistent

execution across funds while

dramatically reducing operational

demands. It will also provide a

gateway for the buy-side to engage

with our crypto currency trading

venue, LMAX Digital.

A lot of developments are

taking place in the FX swaps

market at present. What are

your expectations about how

the electronification of these

instruments is likely to evolve

further over the next few years?

Electronification in swaps is gaining

momentum and we believe it’s about

to accelerate. The key blockers—credit

constraints, legacy workflows and

fragmented liquidity—are precisely

the challenges our solutions aim to

address.

Over the next few years, automation

and credit solutions will allow liquidity

to flow more freely and efficiently.

These advances will not only reshape

trading operations but also create

unprecedented levels of transparency,

thanks to richer market data and more

We’re in the process of delivering a new category-defining service that will solve many operational headaches

for clients which will also provide a gateway for the buy-side to engage with our crypto currency trading venue,

LMAX Digital

accurate cost analysis. Ultimately, the

goal isn’t just to further electronify

FX—it’s to reinvent how it’s traded

altogether. Technology is ready and

the market is finally catching up.

What are your thoughts about the

current FX liquidity landscape and

the innovation and new thinking

that’s going to be required to

further democratise liquidity

provision and improve access to it

which will drive more efficiency and

growth of the wider market?

Liquidity access is still constrained

by legacy infrastructure and credit

limitations. Most participants remain

limited to trading within their ISDA

networks which keeps the market

fragmented. True democratisation

means moving beyond bilateralonly

models and enabling broader

access through intermediated credit

frameworks. That’s the philosophy

behind our approach. Innovation here

isn’t just about speed or cost, it’s

about inclusivity and access.

We believe that innovation in credit,

paired with workflow-integrated

platforms, will be the single most

crucial factor in reshaping liquidity

provision over the next decade.

Everyone is now talking about next

generation technologies like AI,

Machine Learning and Distributed

Ledgers etc. As someone who is

not afraid to embrace new fintech

solutions for the trading desk where

do you see their impact really start

to be felt in FX over the next few

years?

The impact of next-gen technologies

will be most meaningful where

improvements to operational risk,

efficiency and execution outcomes

can be demonstrated. AI and ML will

drive smarter analytics, predictive

liquidity tools and trade optimisation.

Distributed ledgers offer real potential

for simplifying settlement and reducing

counterparty risk.

But technology on its own isn’t

enough. It must be delivered

through infrastructure that’s credible,

scalable and trusted by institutions.

That’s where we have a unique

advantage. Our infrastructure

already serves the largest players in

FX and crypto. As we continue to



That vision now has a global stage. It’s a

rare opportunity to take something that

a small, passionate team built and scale

it with an organisation that shares our

ambition to push boundaries. I view this

acquisition not just as a milestone, but as

a platform for driving our next chapter.

At LMAX Exchange, we are committed

to ensuring that our solutions establish a

new standard for FX and beyond.

In the past you have told us that true

innovation requires visionaries and

thought leaders who are willing to

take a chance and drive change. Do

you still have a desire to keep doing

this and pioneering solutions which

will raise the bar in our industry?


invest in credit intermediation and

workflow solutions, we’re building

the foundation to support the real

adoption of these technologies across

all client segments.

In what ways do you think the

acquisition of FX HedgePool marked

a watershed moment in your

career?

Bringing the buy-side and sell-side together enables more holistic liquidity

solutions bridging market participants who previously operated in separate silos

It’s been the defining transition of

my career. FXHP was a startup born

out of a simple but powerful idea: to

solve credit and workflow challenges

to unlock liquidity. Seeing that

idea evolve into a market-defining

platform—and now a strategic

pillar of one of the world’s leading

financial technology organisations—

has been incredibly rewarding.

More than ever. I’ve always believed

that the best innovations are those that

challenge the status quo, not for the sake

of being different, but because there’s

a better way. Every innovation enables

new ideas, which in turn unlocks new

solutions.

At LMAX Exchange, we now have the

platform, the ambition and the team to

deliver true transformation. I’m energised

by what lies ahead.

But technology on its own isn’t enough. It must be delivered through infrastructure that’s credible, scalable and trusted by institutions


The leading global

cross-asset marketplace

FX | DIGITAL ASSETS | METALS | COMMODITIES | INDICES

WWW.LMAX.COM


From silos to success:

How cloud tech enables

modern FX centralization

Vikas Srivastava, Chief Revenue Officer at Integral outlines how

technology enabled FX centralization is fueling growth and profitability

for banks of all sizes.

EXPERT OPINION

Vikas Srivastava

Delivering growth has always

been at the top of the agenda for

financial institutions. Yet scaling

to compete often brings fresh

challenges. In the past, only the

largest banks had the resources

to take advantage of centralized

FX operations – gaining sharper

pricing, elevated customer services,

and, most crucially, strengthened

risk management.

Today, centralization is no longer

reserved for a limited few. For

banks and financial institutions of

all sizes and structure, it has never

been more affordable to centralize

FX operations, and the business

case - improved efficiency, increased

revenue and superior customer

service - has never been clearer.

FROM EXPANSION TO

FRAGMENTATION

The banking industry has been on a

fascinating journey the past fifteen

years. Mergers and acquisitions

have helped banks expand into new

markets and be better placed to

compete. This was the idea, at least,

but it has not always been the case.

Instead of achieving seamless scale,

many of these newly formed entities

inherited fragmented systems, siloed

infrastructure, and disjointed FX

operations.

Even without M&A, legacy

complexity and technology decisions

at a regional level have created

ADVANCES IN SAAS AND

API-FIRST INFRASTRUCTURE

HAVE EMPOWERED BANKS

TO CREATE A SINGLE,

CENTRAL TRADING HUB AT

A FRACTION OF THE COST

OF TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS


EXPERT OPINION

inefficiencies for banks that limited

central insight into trade flows - an

issue made more acute in volatile

markets.

Meanwhile, fast-growing fintechs

and neobanks - unburdened by

legacy systems or silos - have

delivered digital-first services

from day one, raising the bar for

customer expectations.

The good news? Technology to

overcome fragmentation and

centralize trading operations is

now accessible to all. Advances in

SaaS and API-first infrastructure

have levelled the playing field,

empowering banks to create a

single, central trading hub at a

fraction of the cost of traditional

systems.

FROM FRAGMENTATION TO

CONSISTENCY

There is no standard issue approach to

centralization, and different institutions

will reap multiple advantages in their

own way. Some Integral clients find the

biggest gain comes from bringing small

ticket transactions into their central

treasury. This gives a clearer picture

of trade flows compared to multiple

divisions acting in siloes. Crucially, the

benefits go beyond the FX desk. It

enables better FX pricing for the entire

group across a wide variety of products,

platforms, and client segments.

This consistent approach brings in

optimized pricing, but it need not

come at the cost of unique service

provided locally. Many choose to

maintain individual branding and

localized workflows to keep the

regional identity and services their

clients value. Behind the scenes,

however, the overall operation runs

through a central hub – on a single

platform instance - for better pricing

and, importantly, improved risk

management.

CENTRALIZATION LEADS TO

INTERNALIZATION

The case for centralization becomes

even stronger when banks stop to ask

themselves not only how much money

they are losing through inefficient

operations, but how much are they

making for their rivals?

On any given day, particularly for

the most highly traded currencies,

one part of a bank will be buying or

selling a currency with no insight into

other trades being made across the

group or the group’s overall position

on a variety of currencies. By treating

each trade individually, a share of

the spread will leak outside the

organization.

A centralized FX function changes this

by giving full visibility into the trades

carried out across all branches and

offices. Rather than automatically

looking beyond the organization,

transactions can be internalized

wherever possible.

This consolidated view of current

trades, trading history, and forward

positions allows potential exposures

to be spotted early. It ensures

positions can be balanced across

the organisation, with risk managed

collectively rather than in isolation.

The result is not only higher revenue

and improved trade flows, but also a

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to centralization

stronger competitive position to win

higher-tier clients.

STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY

Our message to customers, based

on how financial institutions are

using our technology, is simple:

there is no one-size-fits-all approach

to centralization. The technology is

flexible enough to align with each

institution’s strategy, organizational

structure, and their local

branding, workflow, and customer

requirements.

With advances in affordability and

ease of deployment, fragmented

trading is no longer worth the

risk or competitive disadvantage.

Centralized services can now be

implemented without the massive

budgets or developer teams once

needed. This is how neobanks and

fintechs have launched centralized

services from scratch. Today,

institutional-grade technology that

delivers on centralization can be

implemented, maintained, and

secured at a reasonable cost.

Modernizing is no longer optional.

The technology is affordable and

adaptable; it just needs institutions

to be focused on moving from a

fragmented approach to building

a modern trading powerhouse

that opens the door to higher-tier

markets.

1.

https://www.clarusft.com/fx-clearing-2024-a-break-out-year-for-options/#:~:text=The%20cleared%20FX%20market%20experienced,%24125%20billion%20in%20FX%20futures.



RISK MANAGEMENT

Automation and data:

Paving the way for taking a



Paul Golden

Risk management complexity has reached unprecedented levels. In this context, automation and

better use of data offer the prospect of a more holistic approach to FX risk management operations

as Paul Golden discovers.


RISK MANAGEMENT

Multiple interconnected risk

dimensions - credit, regulatory,

market, liquidity and operational

risks - are amplified by the increasing

sophistication of clients and

liquidity providers. The challenge

is compounded by the speed and

volume of market data in today’s fully

electrified environment.

The problem, observes John Stead,

director of sales enablement and

marketing at smartTrade Technologies,

is that many banks are still relying on

vendors that offer only basic solutions

when they need granular, responsive

systems.

“This reality has driven many

institutions toward specialised

providers, which offer sophisticated

solutions that can strike the optimal

balance between risk and reward,” he

says. “As I always tell clients, knowing,

understanding and mitigating risks

is absolutely key to any profitable

business model. There are plenty of

examples of banks running profitable

operations only to throw away profits

by failing to manage risk correctly.”

Matt Chichester, electronic trading

at iSAM Securities agrees that FX

risk management has become more

complex in a number of ways.

“The race to the bottom in spreads

has made things challenging for

both LPs and retail brokers,” he says.

“As brokers and LPs compete on

tighter pricing, Tier 1 bank spreads

have widened in some cases due to

increased volatility and uncertainty,

creating a pricing mismatch across the

ecosystem.”

RISK MANAGEMENT AS A

DIFFERENTIATOR

While this has squeezed margins

for many market participants -

including brokers - it has created an

environment where only LPs with

deep internalisation capabilities, smart

routing and robust risk infrastructure


Automation and data: Paving the way for taking a more holistic approach to FX risk management operations

RISK MANAGEMENT

“There are plenty of examples of banks running profitable

operations only to throw away profits by failing to manage risk

correctly.”

John Stead

can thrive. In today’s environment, the

ability to manage risk with precision,

transparency and speed is becoming a

true differentiator.

Eric Huttman, CEO of MillTech, notes

that institutions can also create

their own complexity. “The vast

majority of our clients did not have

an electronified FX setup before they

came to us,” he says. “The physical

trade is only one piece of their FX risk

management life cycle and is entirely

non-core. As a result, processes

tend to be both decentralised and

unconnected, with many firms

executing over the phone or via

email and regulatory reporting and

confirmations having to be manually

uploaded.”

Fortunately, this is beginning to

change. What is also changing is the

perception of data – the focus now

needs to be on how data is stored and

interpreted, because if you cannot do

this well, it is just noise.

“For example, a client will have all

the data on exposures in a different

system but does not want to parse

it themselves in order to create the

actual trades that need to happen,”

says Huttman. “They want a third

party to be able to grab all the

data sitting in different places on

their system - in whatever format

- compare it to hedges that are on

and automatically determine if an

adjustment trade needs to happen

versus a threshold limit and then to

execute on or not.”

According to Stead, the biggest

efficiency breakthrough from

What is changing is the perception of data with a focus on how data is stored and interpreted

electronification is the ability of banks

to dramatically expand their currency

and asset coverage without hiring

armies of people to watch every

transaction or position.

“Previously, more risk management

literally meant more people and

higher costs - now it should all

be automated,” he says. “The

transformation enables institutions

to internalise broader ranges

of currencies and assets while

maintaining effective oversight

through electronic systems.”

PROACTIVE APPROACH

INCREASINGLY COMMON

We are seeing banks move from

reactive to proactive risk management

through real-time monitoring and

predictive analytics where the systems

can anticipate market movements and

adjust strategies accordingly, rather

than just responding after events

occur.

“This shift represents a fundamental

change in operational efficiency,

where electronic platforms provide

continuous visibility into exposure

profiles and enable automated

hedging strategies based on

predefined parameters,” adds Stead.

“The institutions that have embraced

this electronification are seeing

dramatic improvements in both

risk management effectiveness and

operational efficiency. It is really a

competitive necessity at this point.”

Chichester suggests that the efficiency

gains from electronification are

something of a double-edged sword.

“On the one hand, electronification

has improved execution speed and

market access, particularly for firms

who have invested in real-time

analytics and trade monitoring,”

he says. “The ability to monitor

exposures, client behaviour and flow

characteristics dynamically - not just

post-trade - is now fundamental to


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“The ability to monitor exposures, client behaviour and

flow characteristics dynamically - not just post-trade - is now

fundamental to successful risk management.”

can start closing the position before

volatility spikes rather than scrambling

afterward.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

and currency management can deliver

“The data-driven approach leverages

sophisticated, efficient and effective

artificial intelligence to process vast

risk management.

amounts of information including

historical patterns, market sentiment

Stead reckons the key word here is

and economic indicators,” explains

anticipation - if you can predict what

Stead. “The institutions using

is likely to happen, you can prepare

predictive analytics to understand

and mitigate before events occur,

client flow patterns based on

which is infinitely more effective

historical data are gaining significant

than reacting afterwards. “We are

competitive advantages as they are

moving toward faster-than-real-

essentially seeing around corners in

RISK MANAGEMENT

Matt Chichester

successful risk management.”

However, it has also introduced new

challenges. Trade signals and trader

reactions to market events are quicker

than ever, leading to higher volumes

and frequency of trades. That increases

pressure on brokers and LPs alike to

have robust risk frameworks that can

keep up with intraday volatility and

react instantly.

There is great interest across the

market in how more automated,

data-driven approaches to hedging

time approaches where predictive

capabilities enable proactive risk

management,” he says. “Let me give

you a practical example: you can

anticipate credit issues for clients

based on their current limits and

typical trading volumes at specific

times of the month, then proactively

communicate with both the client and

your credit team to arrange solutions

before rejections occur.”

Similarly, market risk can be managed

predictively. If you can anticipate

that you are unlikely to receive

offsetting flows for a large position

in a particular currency and you

know figures are due out soon, you

ways that weren’t possible before.”

“By understanding client behaviour,

flow quality and symbol performance

at a granular level, LPs and brokers

can hedge more selectively, reducing

both market impact and cost,” says

Chichester. “This enables smarter

internalisation strategies - retaining

exposure when the risk profile is

favourable and offloading it promptly

when it is not.”

When combined with predictive

analytics, machine learning models

and real-time monitoring, these

approaches can dynamically adjust

hedging strategies in response to

shifting market conditions and liquidity

profiles.

“This not only improves execution

efficiency but also enhances resilience

against volatility, supports better

capital allocation and ultimately

contributes to more stable and

predictable trading outcomes,” he

adds.

AI brings tremendous opportunities for enhanced decision-making, automated responses and pattern recognition

Stead observes that granular risk

assessment should be considered table

stakes, not a premium feature - the

more granular the better to accurately

capture outcomes for specific clients,

currency pairs and times of day.

“But granularity alone isn’t enough,”

he says. “You need comprehensive


Liquidity,

Technology and

Analytics for

Global Markets

Maximise opportunities. Minimise latency.

Manage risk with confidence.

iSAM Securities (UK) Limited, iSAM Securities (HK) Limited and iSAM Securities (Global) Limited,

iSAM Securities Limited and iSAM Securities (USA) Inc. are together "iSAM Securities".

See iSAM Securities’ disclaimer at iSAM Securities Disclaimer.



RISK MANAGEMENT

“The advisory and consultancy space is an area where AI is also

going to have a lot to say and although it is not a solution in

and of itself, it is a key enabler”

Eric Huttman

integration. Modern platforms must

avoid the silo problem that has

plagued the industry. Controls should

be open to input from other bank

systems to eliminate data duplication

and provide truly comprehensive

views.”

The best platforms now offer real-time

position aggregation across multiple

trading systems, advanced scenario

analysis and sophisticated visualisation

tools that enable immediate

identification of risk concentrations.

The holistic approach extends beyond

traditional market risk to encompass

credit exposures, liquidity constraints

and operational dependencies.

Taking a broader view.

“What we are seeing with state-of-theart

solutions is the ability to understand

currency risk in the context of broader

trading activities and portfolio effects,”

adds Stead. “The platforms that can

incorporate correlations between

currency movements and other

asset classes provide much more

comprehensive risk assessments than

standalone FX systems.”

While the underlying technology has

become incredibly sophisticated, the

best platforms are actually easier to

use than their predecessors. A well

designed risk management platform

should be intuitive enough to avoid

introducing new operational risks from

user confusion.

“The integration challenge has

been largely solved through

standardisation,” says Stead. “Any

serious platform should provide open

APIs in standard formats like FIX

and REST, which makes integration

straightforward rather than a custom

development nightmare.”

The key principle is that systems

should fit into existing workflows

rather than forcing operational

changes. However, Stead cautions

against oversimplifying the

implementation process.

“While basic operations should be

intuitive, you still need expertise to

configure advanced features like

custom scenario modelling and

sophisticated hedging strategies,”

he suggests. “The most successful

implementations combine user-friendly

interfaces with proper expertise to

leverage advanced capabilities. The

goal is minimising disruption while

maximising capability. If your risk

management system is too complex

for people to operate properly, the

system itself becomes a risk.”

Modern risk management solutions,

such as Radar, are designed to give

dealing desks a continuous, realtime

view of their exposure and

client activity across all platforms and

trading servers.

Rather than relying on static or endof-day

reports, these more advanced

platforms continuously stream

positions from MT4, MT5, cTrader,

DXTrade, FIX APIs and proprietary

systems into a unified live view,

making it possible to assess net risk

instantly across books, symbols and

venues.

“Enhanced alerting capabilities also

allow users to take action before sharp

clients drain their P&L - risk teams

are able to act in the moment, rather

than after losses are realised,” explains

Chichester. “This consolidated insight

empowers faster, more informed

hedging decisions, allows brokers to

dynamically adjust their risk posture

as conditions change and integrates

risk oversight seamlessly into daily

workflows.”

KNOWING THE CUSTOMER

BETTER

Coupled with powerful historical

analytics, scenario testing and

visualisation tools, these solutions also

enable deeper investigation into client

behaviour and risk trends over time.

By bringing all key data, predictive

insights and execution capabilities

into one environment, Chichester

observes that they allow risk teams

to operate with maximum speed,

precision and competitiveness, turning

risk management from a defensive

function into a strategic advantage.

Of course, these solutions require a

careful balance between sophistication

and usability. “They often require

additional training or skills,”

acknowledges Chichester. “However,

many of today’s platforms have been

adapted with this in mind, making

them increasingly modular and

intuitive in order to be as user friendly

as possible.”

Having already achieved ultra-low

latency, measuring processes in single

digit micros, Stead reckons the next

competitive frontier is faster-than-realtime

capabilities through prediction

and anticipation. “The only way to be


RISK MANAGEMENT

faster than real-time is to anticipate

what has a high probability of

occurring and prepare your strategies

before events happen,” he explains.

“We are seeing clients use predictive

analytics to understand when flows

will occur based on historical data and

this is just the beginning.” Artificial

intelligence is driving much of this

innovation, though it requires careful

implementation. AI brings tremendous

opportunities for enhanced decisionmaking,

automated responses and

pattern recognition, but vendors must

also consider the new risks that the

technology introduces.

Model risk becomes more significant

and there is potential for AI systems

to amplify market volatility through

correlated responses.

Stead suggests the future landscape

will likely include quantum computing

applications, digital twins for market

simulation and autonomous risk

management systems.

When asked to assess the factors

FX trading firms should take into

account when selecting an FX risk

management solutions provider,

Chichester states that beyond

the obvious considerations of

performance, reliability and support,

there are a number of key questions

firms should ask before committing to

a provider.

“First, do they build their own

technology? Second, do they

understand both the broker and the LP

perspective? Third, is the pricing model

transparent? Fourth, do they offer

real-time insight, or simply end-of-day

reporting? Fifth, is the platform able

to scale with your firm? Ultimately,

it’s about finding a partner whose risk

philosophy aligns with your business

model and allows your firm to grow

both competitively and with future

developments in technology.”

A key principle is that systems should fit into existing workflows rather than forcing operational changes

SYSTEMS MUST BE ROBUST While Huttman reckons there is no

Ultra-low latency and high data excuse for any firm not to have a

processing capability are absolutely comprehensive view of its exposures, the

non-negotiable when it comes to user friendliness of these systems varies.

vendor selection as any system must

excel not just in normal conditions “Most people do not understand the

but especially during volatile periods concept of a cost of hedging,” he

around market events, says Stead. says. “A lot of what we do is to try

“This is where you separate the serious and remove the vagaries on what the

providers from the rest,” he adds. “The existing costs are in their setup from

evaluation must be comprehensive an execution perspective.”

because risk itself is multifactorial.

Forward-thinking capability is equally When looking for a risk management

crucial. Evaluate what the vendor system, firms need to define what

is doing to address future risks and their problems are. Important

opportunities, particularly around AI.” questions to ask when using a new

platform or provider include ‘where is

The technical requirements extend the money?’ and ‘where is the risk?’.

beyond basic functionality. Clients As Huttman observes, there are many

need platforms that can integrate examples of providers where the client

seamlessly with existing systems, is forced to take balance sheet risk

provide intuitive interfaces that

against them.

minimise operational risk and

demonstrate proven performance According to Huttman, the big

under stress conditions.

focus for platform providers now is

next-generation decision-making

Stead also warns against ignoring the enhancement. “The advisory and

human element. “Evaluate the vendor’s consultancy space is an area where

support quality, financial stability and AI is also going to have a lot to say

commitment to ongoing innovation,” and although it is not a solution in

he says. “This is a strategic decision and of itself, it is a key enabler”, he

that will impact your operations for concludes. “However, it will allow

years, so invest the time in thorough firms to automate different rules

due diligence - including reference and preferences into a configurable

checks and pilot implementations where system, which will deliver a customised

possible.

automated solution.”


From execution to intelligence:

How AI aggregation tools are

helping brokers lead

By Matt Singh, Founder of MZX Liquidity

PROVIDER VIEWPOINT

Matt Singh

In a market saturated with noise,

timing and trust have become the

broker’s most valuable currencies. Yet

despite advanced platforms, generous

rebates, and increasingly creative

promotions, most brokers still lose

their VIP traders within 6–12 months.

Why? Because they’ve mastered

acquisition but neglected pre-market

alignment and post-signup retention.

That’s where AI-powered forecasting

steps in and brokers adopting it early

are positioning themselves not just

as service providers, but as strategic

market leaders in the eyes of their

clients. Unlike single-model AI tools,

MZX aggregates multiple forecasting

engines — combining them into a

tested, confidence-weighted view built

for institutional decision-making.

THE MISSING LAYER: WHERE

BROKERS BLEED THEIR BEST

TRADERS

Every broker knows: the first deposit

isn’t a win it’s a window. You’ve earned

the signup, but unless you provide

real-time value every day, your traders

will look elsewhere for clarity. Telegram

groups, social media analysts, or worse

impulsive, isolated decision-making.

That’s where most brokerages lose the

trader lifecycle.

What’s missing is a daily insight

engine something that keeps traders

anchored to your brand before they

even open a chart.

AN AI INTELLIGENCE LAYER

THAT PUTS BROKERS IN THE

DRIVER’S SEAT

At MZX Liquidity, we’ve developed

a white-labeled forecasting solution

built specifically for brokerages that

want to go beyond “execution-only.”

Our system delivers high-confidence,

pair-specific market insights that align

traders before the session starts.

It’s macro-informed, technically

structured, and updated daily

using a proprietary multi-model AI

framework.

Once traders begin receiving it, it

becomes part of their routine —

something they trust, reference, and

build around. Importantly, this is not a

generic AI tool repackaged for trading.

It is a purpose-built forecasting engine

designed around the specific rhythms

and expectations of professional and

institutional traders. That includes

technical markers, event risk,

fundamental bias, and clear scenario

mapping.

WHY AGGREGATION

OUTPERFORMS SINGLE-MODEL AI

Instead of relying on a single engine,

we run every market question

through five independent AI models

— then blend the responses using a

confidence-weighted scoring system

based on historical accuracy.

The result:

Forecasting is where AI proves it belongs in trading not just as a tool, but as a daily edge

• Less noise.

• More conviction.

• And insights that reflect how

institutional desks think — not how

social media predicts.


PROVIDER VIEWPOINT

This structure consistently produces

scenario-based clarity that helps

traders see what’s likely, what’s

possible, and what to avoid.

Single-model AI approaches often

fail in markets because they cannot

account for nuance or disagreement.

With aggregation, we capture

divergence, test consensus, and deliver

sharper directional probabilities with

better reasoning behind them.

WHAT TRADERS RECEIVE AND

WHY THEY STAY

What clients get isn’t just a forecast

it’s a mental framework. Each session

opens with the key macro and

technical drivers, followed by scenario

probabilities that simplify decisionmaking.

Risk zones are defined. Trends

are contextualized. And actionable

clarity replaces emotion. Traders no

longer enter the market guessing they

start aligned. This kind of consistency

is what builds long-term trust in your

firm.

And more importantly, it builds a

habit. When your clients get into the

rhythm of checking their daily insights

— and those insights prove valuable

— your brand becomes the first thing

they think of when the markets open.

That kind of embedded presence is

what most brokers can only dream of.

FROM INSIGHT TO RETENTION:

THE BROKER’S NEW ROLE

By offering structured, daily market

forecasting, brokers shift from service

providers to strategic partners. Clients

start associating your brand with

clarity. And when that happens, they

stay longer, trade better, and look to

you for more than just spreads.

In short: you stop being replaceable.

This is especially relevant for firms

managing funded accounts, highfrequency

traders, or prop desk

CASE STUDY: A 25-TRADER DESK BUILDS PRE-MARKET CLARITY

One of our early institutional clients a proprietary trading desk with 25

active traders integrated MZX Liquidity in early 2025. Their objective was

simple: reduce noise and improve alignment across traders operating

in different styles and time zones. Within weeks, they reported that our

AI forecasts had become a daily focal point across the desk a trusted

reference point that grounded internal discussions and reduced indecision.

Traders started using it in-house as their go-to market pulse, and even

customer support teams referenced it to better anticipate and understand

client behavior and incoming trade-related queries. Beyond the desk,

team leads shared that onboarding junior traders had become easier

thanks to the structure the forecasts provided. Instead of relying solely on

mentorship or scattered commentary, new hires had a clear, daily source

of market reasoning to calibrate their views.

partners. For these clients, edge

matters and anything that contributes

to process, discipline, or scenario

planning becomes a competitive

advantage. By equipping them with

timely, high-confidence forecasting,

you’re not only improving their results

you’re giving them a reason to stay.

BROKER-CONTROLLED DELIVERY.

FULL OWNERSHIP.

There’s no extra tech layer. No user

portals. No complex integrations. We

handle the infrastructure behind the

scenes and give brokers full visibility

and control over who receives what,

when, and how. What makes this

work isn’t just the tech it’s the human

feedback loop.

Each week, we connect directly with

your head of trading or management

team to review performance, surface

feedback, and ensure the forecasting

engine continues to align with your

goals and your traders’ behavior.

This level of collaboration ensures the

AI forecasting layer evolves with your

business. Whether you’re scaling into

new regions, adjusting your target

market, or refining VIP service tiers,

our insights remain aligned with your

strategy.

THE LEADERSHIP PLAY:

BROKERS WHO GUIDE, NOT

FOLLOW

Let’s be clear, this isn’t a “feature”

brokers bolt on. Offering institutionalgrade

AI analysis under your own

brand tells clients: we care about your

outcomes, not just your deposits.

It’s how you elevate your perception,

extend retention, and create a trading

experience that clients won’t want to

leave. In today’s AI-driven landscape,

perception matters more than ever.

Traders expect their broker to be

modern, responsive, and tech-forward.

But beyond buzzwords, they want

real, tangible value. Forecasting is

where AI proves it belongs in trading

not just as a tool, but as a daily edge.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR SMART

BROKERS

The brokers who win the next cycle

won’t be the ones who promise the

tightest spread they’ll be the ones who

consistently deliver clarity, confidence,

and conviction to their traders. Whitelabeled

AI forecasting is how that

happens and MZX Liquidity is the

engine. It’s scalable. It’s structured.

And it speaks in the language your

clients respect. You already have the

traders. Now, help them forecast.



Stablecoins:

The future of

corporate treasury

management

By Kebbie Sebastian, CEO of Merge

DIGITAL ASSETS


DIGITAL ASSETS

Kebbie Sebastian

Stablecoins have quickly become

an integral part of the digital asset

ecosystem with a market cap

exceeding $270 billion in August

of 2025 (Artemis) – demonstrating

continued institutional adoption and

regulatory acceptance. Stablecoins

have the potential to revolutionize

corporate treasury operations,

offering transformative solutions to

long-standing problems with liquidity

management, cross-border payments,

and operational efficiency.

For treasury professionals managing

global liquidity, the value proposition is

clear: 24/7/365 programmable money

that operates outside traditional

banking hours, eliminates pre-funding

requirements, and enables real-time

optimization of working capital.

THE PERSISTENT TREASURY

CHALLENGE: TRAPPED

LIQUIDITY AND OPERATIONAL

COMPLEXITY

Corporate treasury teams continue to

deal with fundamental inefficiencies

that have plagued international

business for decades. Liquidity

fragmentation remains the primary

operational challenge, with treasury

departments maintaining prefunded

foreign currency accounts across

multiple jurisdictions to ensure

local currency availability for

payouts. Industry estimates suggest

that ~$4 trillion is locked up in

prefunded foreign currency balances

globally, which represents a huge

opportunity cost for businesses,

requiring continuous monitoring and

rebalancing of cash positions across

time zones. This is a labour-intensive

process that is further hindered

by cutoff times and forecasting

inaccuracies.

Despite technological advances,

multi-bank relationship complexity

has intensified with treasury teams

having to manage intricate networks

of correspondent banks, each

with distinct operational windows,

fee structures, and compliance

requirements. When foreign currency

accounts run low late into or outside

banking hours, treasury operations

face forced delays until the next

business day. This creates cash flow

disruption and limits strategic agility.

A lack of payment transparency in

these networks creates a significant

operational burden. These traditional

cross-border transfers involve multiple

intermediaries, each adding fees

and potential points of failure. The

correspondent banking chain requires

payment messages to pass local AML/

KYC requirements at every stage,

with each bank updating account

balances and taking processing fees.

This complexity increases substantially

for less common currency pairs,

where additional correspondent

banks increase costs and settlement

uncertainty.

Even with modern SWIFT GPI

performance improvements, working

capital inefficiencies continue to

impact treasury operations. While

90% of international payments now

reach beneficiary banks within one

hour, the “last mile” to end-customer

accounts often requires additional

processing time, and deals with service

interruptions during weekends and

holidays. But, when dealing with

complex currency pairs, largely when

one currency is from an emerging

market, SWIFT transfers still take up to

five days to settle with increased costs.

Treasury teams must maintain buffer

liquidity to account for these variables,

reducing overall capital efficiency.

At each bank in the payment flow, the

following happens:

1. Fees: Fees are taken for processing

and foreign exchange

2. Payment messages: The payment

messages must pass local financial

crime requirements

3. Account rebalancing: Each bank

has to accurately update the balances

in the accounts of the incoming and

outgoing payees

For the funds to move from one

account to the other, the domestic

payment systems for each must be

accessed during normal business

hours and the sender’s bank will have

to hold enough cash to cover these

unknown costs until the payment is

complete.

STABLECOIN INFRASTRUCTURE:

REDEFINING TREASURY

OPERATIONS

Real-time liquidity orchestration –

Stablecoins fundamentally transform

liquidity management by enabling

24/7/365 transfers that operate

independently of traditional banking

infrastructure. This continuous

availability allows treasury teams

to optimize cash positions in realtime,

responding instantly to market

conditions or operations requirements

without waiting for banking hours

or settlement windows. Treasury

teams can minimize pre-funding

requirements by maintaining

stablecoin reserves that convert to

local currencies on-demand through

instant payment rails. This approach

directly reduces trapped liquidity


Stablecoins: The future of corporate treasury management

THE BUSINESS IMPACT

OF STABLECOINS – ROI

FRAMEWORK FOR TREASURY

TRANSFORMATION

Enterprise implementations of

stablecoin have a direct cost reduction

that is consistent across multiple

operational areas:

DIGITAL ASSETS

Source: Merge

while providing greater flexibility for staffing availability. The result is more

hedging strategies and investment predictable cash flow management

opportunities.

and reduced operational risk.

Programmable treasury automation Enhanced transparency and

– Stablecoins enable smart

control – Blockchain-based stablecoin

contract automations that execute transactions provide end-to-end

predetermined treasury functions visibility that traditional payment

without manual intervention.

infrastructure cannot match. Both

Cash sweeps triggered by balance senders and receivers can track

thresholds, supply chain finance transactions in real-time, eliminating

payments activated by shipment the uncertainty that characterizes

confirmations, and automated

correspondent banking transfers.

FX hedging based on exposure

This further enables comprehensive

limits represent fundamental shifts audit trails that automatically capture

from reactive to proactive treasury transaction details, timestamps, and

management. Treasury teams are blockchain confirmations. Treasury

able to encode business logic directly teams gain unprecedented insight

into payment infrastructure, ensuring into payment flows, enabling more

consistent execution of treasury accurate cash flow forecasting and

policies regardless of time zones or streamlined reconciliation processes.

• Transaction fees: Up to 80% fee

reduction compared to traditional

wire transfers

• FX spread: Improved pricing through

direct market access and reduced

intermediary fees

• Operational overhead: Up to 70%

reduction in manual work

• Error remediation: Significant

decrease in failed transaction costs

due to blockchain settlement finality

Stablecoin treasury operations deliver

measurable improvements in capital

efficiency:

• Settlement acceleration: Minutes

versus hours or days, improving cash

conversion cycles

• Reduced float: Elimination of funds in

transit during settlement windows

• Capital requirements: Up to 66%

improvement in working capital

efficiency through reduced prefunding

needs

• Yield optimization: Access to

decentralized finance protocols for

treasury surplus management

Treasury teams report substantial

productivity improvements following

stablecoin implementations:

Source: Merge

• Process automation: 24/7/365

automated execution of treasury

processes

• Reconciliation efficiency: Real-time

blockchain data eliminates manual

matching processes

• Exception handling: Reduced manual

intervention requirements for

standard treasury operations

• Strategic capacity: Staff time is freed


Intelligent

Performance

• Neutral, powerful, end-to-end

FX solutions

• Fully configurable FX technology

for a new trading era

• From a trusted and tested

partner since 2009


Stablecoins: The future of corporate treasury management

up and redirected from operational to

strategic tasks

not eliminate the underlying compliance

responsibilities.

Throughout this implementation

process, treasury teams must ensure

DIGITAL ASSETS

IMPROVING REGULATORY

CLARITY ACROSS MARKETS

As stablecoin adoption continues to

grow, regulators are continuing to

develop frameworks to ensure stability

and adequate consumer protections. This

is not yet global which is a challenge

that needs to be overcome.

In the US, The GENIUS Act, which

was signed into law in July 2025,

establishes comprehensive federal

oversight. This regulatory framework

for payment stablecoins includes key

provisions including: requiring 100%

reserve backing and licensing through

either federal regulators (OCC) or

certified state regimes, comprehensive

AML/KYC compliance, monthly audit

requirements, and the prohibition of

interest on payments to stablecoin

holders in order to maintain focus on

payment functionality.

Globally, the EU has established the

Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)

framework that requires stricter

reserve management and operational

transparency with mandatory quarterly

attestations. In the UK, the Financial

Conduct Authority (FCA) consultation

process is ongoing – the FCA published

consultation papers in May 2025

outlining proposed stablecoin regulation,

with final rules expected in 2026. And

in Hong Kong, their stablecoin licensing

regime has been effective as of August

2025 for fiat-backed stablecoins and

requires authorized institution status for

stablecoin providers.

Ultimately these multi-jurisdictional

requirements create compliance

complexity and operational

challenges. Each jurisdiction may have

different licensing and operational

requirements, in particular for AML/

KYC requirements. Additionally, using

third parties stablecoin providers does

IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

– STRATEGIC ADOPTION FOR

TREASURY TEAMS

In order for treasury teams to begin

using stablecoins, enterprises need

to take a measured and systematic

approach:

Phase 1 – A thorough infrastructure

assessment, compliance framework

development, and pilot program should

be conducted. Key items in this phase

include but are not limited to a technical

infrastructure evaluation that looks at

API integration capabilities, AML/KYC

integration with existing compliance

systems, and planned implementation

with a limited scope on a specific use

case (i.e. single currency corridor).

Typically this phase should take up to six

months.

Phase 2 – This kicks off operational

scaling and process integration with core

focuses on workflow automation, multirail

payment orchestration, and team

training and change management. In

this phase, enterprises hone in on smart

contract programmability for routine

treasury function, identify cross-chain

capability requirements for different

stablecoin networks, and update policies

and procedures for stablecoin treasury

management. This phase generally takes

six to twelve months.

Phase 3 – Treasury teams look for

strategic optimization and advanced

treasury automation capabilities. Teams

will focus on cross-border liquidity

management, automated hedging

strategies, additional transaction

automations with smart contract

triggers, and direct integrations with

suppliers and customers. This is an

ongoing process in which internal

policies align business outcomes and

customer expectations to constantly

optimize treasury processes.

effective risk management and

operational resilience through technical

risk mitigation and proactive regulatory

and compliance risk assessments.

By establishing infrastructure

security, operational continuity,

cross-jurisdictional compliance, and

counterparty risk management,

enterprises can sensibly implement

stablecoin payments infrastructure.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

Stablecoins represent the emergence of

programmable money infrastructure that

aligns with the 24/7 global economy. For

treasury professionals, this technology

offers solutions to persistent challenges –

trapped liquidity, operational complexity,

and limited automation capabilities –

while enabling new strategic possibilities

through programmable payments.

The implementation framework outlined

above provides a structured approach for

treasury teams to capture these benefits

while managing associated risks. By

starting with focused pilot programs

and scaling systematically, treasury

departments can transform their

operations without disrupting business

continuity.

The convergence of regulatory

clarity, infrastructure maturity, and

enterprise adoption creates an optimal

environment for stablecoin treasury

implementation in 2025. Treasury

teams that act decisively to implement

these capabilities will position their

organizations for sustained competitive

advantage.

The future of corporate treasury

management is programmable,

automated, and globally optimized.

Stablecoins provide the technological

foundation to achieve this vision while

maintaining the security, compliance,

and reliability that enterprise treasury

operations demand.


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