LMAX Group Enters High-Leverage Crypto Derivatives Market
London-based fintech firm LMAX Group has introduced cash-settled perpetual futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), offering up to 100x leverage to institutional clients. This move positions LMAX alongside major players in the crypto derivatives space, such as Binance and Bybit, which dominate the market with trillions in daily turnover. Cointelegraph
📈 Key Features of LMAX’s New Offering
- Leverage: Up to 100x, allowing institutions to amplify their exposure to BTC and ETH price movements.
- Settlement: Cash-settled contracts, simplifying accounting and reconciliation for regulated entities.
- Liquidity Providers: Priced with multiple institutional liquidity providers, ensuring competitive spreads.
- Price Oracle: Utilizes the Pyth index, a leading first-party oracle for financial data, to determine contract prices.
- Funding Rate: Applies every eight hours to align the contract price with the spot price, reflecting the weighted average price difference between the perpetual future and the spot price. Cointelegraph
🌐 Institutional Demand Drives Innovation
LMAX’s CEO, David Mercer, highlighted that perpetual futures have dominated the crypto market for the last three or four years. The firm’s decision to offer high-leverage crypto derivatives responds to increasing demand from proprietary trading firms and brokers seeking leveraged access to crypto markets. Crypto Economy
📊 Market Impact and Industry Context
Perpetual futures now account for 68% of all Bitcoin trading volume in 2025, up from 66% the previous year. Leading exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX hold nearly 70% of the open interest in these products, with daily volumes ranging from $10 billion to $30 billion. On peak days, Binance alone has seen volumes as high as $80 billion. Cointelegraph
🧠 Understanding Perpetual Futures
Perpetual futures are a type of financial derivative that functions like a traditional futures contract but without an expiration date. They allow traders to hold positions indefinitely, providing continuous exposure to the underlying asset’s price movements. These contracts are cash-settled and aligned to real-time spot market prices of the pegged crypto asset through daily cash adjustments, leveraging a transparent funding rate method. BiteMyCoin
🏦 LMAX Group’s Strategic Positioning
LMAX Group operates forex brokers in the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and Mauritius, processing over $40 billion in daily spot trading volume across forex and digital assets. The firm’s expansion into crypto derivatives reflects its commitment to providing institutional-grade trading solutions and capturing a share of the growing demand for crypto exposure among professional traders. Cointelegraph
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