LMAX Exchange Group, which operates a leading FCA regulated trading venue and has become one of the leading liquidity providers to FX brokers worldwide, has announced the launch of the first physical crypto currency exchange dedicated to serving only institutional clients.
David Mercer, LMAX Exchange
David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Exchange said:
We are furthering the legitimisation of the crypto currency market by offering institutions a platform on which to acquire, trade and hold crypto currencies securely with high quality, deep liquidity.
LMAX Exchange said that it has developed LMAX Digital at the request of its existing institutional clients, who desired a credible, efficient and trusted platform on which to trade digital currencies with like-minded institutions.
Only the most liquid and established crypto currencies are offered through LMAX Digital: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash.
Trading is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and governed by similar rules and principles as LMAX Exchange’s FCA regulated MTF (Multilateral Trading Facility). This ensures the exchange operates with best-of-breed security, compliance, KYC and anti-money laundering policies and procedures, and market participants are treated equally regardless of status, size or activity levels.
LMAX Exchange stated that the key differentiators of LMAX Digital include:
- Trusted, secure trading environment based on LMAX Exchange proven technology.
- One public rulebook for all members.
- Central limit order book (CLOB) with streaming, firm institutional liquidity.
- Safe and secure hot/warm/cold multi-signature wallets.
- Full custodian solution.
Key execution facts:
- Matching latency under 350μs
- High throughput >100,000 messages/second
- Superior exchange performance: uptime 100%
- All orders time-stamped in microseconds (receipt to execution)
“We are perfectly positioned to address the gap in the market for a robust physical crypto currency exchange operating with institutional liquidity,” David Mercer continued. “Over $10 trillion of FIAT has been traded on our exchanges to date and we have institutional clients in over 100 countries. We’ve applied everything we’ve learned in the institutional FX market to LMAX Digital, to create a fundamentally improved, secure digital exchange based on our proven trading technology, market leading liquidity and transparent and precise execution.
“The rise of institutional trading of crypto currencies will be a game-changer for the industry. We believe our new exchange will support the transformation of the crypto market from the fringes to the mainstream. Digital currencies are, without a doubt, coming of age. Exchanges will play a crucial role in bringing the major crypto currencies into wider circulation, helping them to become accepted into conventional funds which in turn will help to support a normalisation of value.
“Further to the launch of LMAX Digital in our London-based data centre (LD4) and true to our ambition of becoming the leading exchange in capital markets, we intend to roll out LMAX Digital exchange infrastructure in New York and Tokyo in the near future, to meet demand from our clients globally.”
More on LMAX Digital can be seen in the following fact sheet (pdf).