THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
• Top-of-book spreads: Despite a 64 % surge in EUR / USD volatility, average top-of-book spreads on EBS Market rose by a modest 0.15 pip to 0.89 pip from 0.74 pip in 2024.
How derivatives provide a beacon of light in complex markets Our centralised all-to-all marketplaces for FX futures, FX options and FX Link( Spotto-Futures Basis) provided deep liquidity and increased transparency for trading of FX derivatives.
• Elevated volumes: April 2025 saw an ADV of $ 101 billion(+ 31 % YoY) for FX futures, $ 7.8 billion(+ 64 % YoY) for FX options, and $ 4.9 billion(+ 49 % YoY) for FX Link.
• On 4 April, FX Link had an all-time singleday volume record of $ 14.6 billion traded.
• On 5 March, FX options saw $ 23 billion notional volume traded in a single day.
• Strong currency pair volumes:
• On 23 May, BRL futures ADV reached a record ~$ 3 billion notional.
• On 3 February, CAD futures reached a record volume of ~$ 24 billion, with average daily open interest up 100 % YoY.
• Magnitude of order flow: On 4 April, 2.5 million orders were placed in the EUR futures, with a maximum single order size of € 94 million.
• Price continuity: On 4 April, as markets moved, liquidity replenishment was strong with 100 % of all price points traded in EUR / USD futures( price range of 183 pips).
• Top-of-book spreads: Despite a 68 % increase in EUR / USD volatility, average topof-book spreads rose by a modest 0.17 pip to 0.74 pips.
Contrast to relationship-based streaming in the spot market While centralised all-to-all-matching order books provide a vital source of liquidity, bilateral, disclosed trading offers greater flexibility for customers in sourcing liquidity and optimising their trading activity. EBS Direct, our streaming spot liquidity platform, complemented primary market liquidity access and performed strongly during the recent period of volatility.
• Elevated volumes: Between 3-7 April, more than $ 32 billion traded on average per day.
• LP fill ratio: Between 3-7 April, EBS Direct maintained a high LP fill ratio of 91.5 % outperforming some other notable streaming platforms that disclosed fill ratios dropping from 72.7 % and 84 %*.
• Median LP response times: Remained at five milliseconds, with the platform supporting only FX Global Code compliant LPs.
• Realised effective spreads: EBS Direct delivered significantly tighter execution costs, with realised effective spreads increasing by just over 50 % for EUR / USD and USD / CNH, compared to a tripling on other streaming venues.*.
* As referenced in a recent FX Markets article here: https:// www. fx-markets. com / trading / 7949566 / disclosed-trading-anoasis-in-the-fx-liquidity-mirage?
Beyond the liquidity mirage: The true value of central limit order books CME Group’ s spot, NDFs, futures and options central limit order books( CLOB) play a vital role in the fragmented FX marketplace by bringing together genuine market interest and facilitating all-to-all liquidity interaction. Widely recognised as sources of price reference, they complement and support efficient bilateral pricing in the wider marketplace. The central tenets of these marketplaces are ever more important in volatile market conditions and include: transparency, firm liquidity, market efficiency and a reliable source of price discovery. By providing firm liquidity and transparent market data, these venues enable better decision-making and efficient risk management, leaving no room for liquidity mirages. Our unique network of 1,400 institutions and over 100,000 active FX traders globally allows users to find and transact with genuine market interest and reinforces the role of these marketplaces as foundational to the FX ecosystem.
CME Group products are not suitable for all investors and involve the risk of loss. Full disclaimer available here: https:// www. cmegroup. com / disclaimer. html Copyright © 2025 CME Group Inc.
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