Leading Australian retail forex broker AxiTrader is breaking into the institutional business. LeapRate has learned that about two months ago AxiTrader went live with a soft launch of AxiPrime, combining liquidity, prime brokerage and aggregation services for retail forex brokerages and institutional traders, leveraging off AxiTrader’s regulated status in both Australia and the UK.
AxiPrime is launching initially using Hotspot and Integral platforms. However we understand that they are looking to bring on other ECNs such as Currenex, FlexTrade and OLFA in the coming months.
We also understand from industry sources that since soft-launching two months ago, AxiPrime is already doing about $30 billion per month in volume.
The prime brokerage business, at least in the FX space, has been changing rapidly, with traditional large banks withdrawing in favor of FX-specialist firms such as AxiPrime (such as Boston Prime, also Saxo Bank and FXCM have indicated they want to enter this business), which essentially create a layer between the brokerages and the big banks. Users of FX prime brokerage services can thus get services and terms (such as amount of required collateral) more geared to their specific needs, while still having access to big-bank liquidity and pricing.
We’ll keep our audience updated as the official launch approaches.