FCA-regulated CF Benchmarks, a cryptocurrency index provider, announced on Thursday the addition of market data of LMAX Digital, an institutional spot cryptocurrency exchange , to its benchmarks.
The market data from LMAX Digital will contribute to six CF Benchmarks’ cryptocurrency indices, effective from May 3. These benchmarks include some of the widely used Bitcoin and Ethereum indices with over $5 billion in referenced assets.
The company said that the addition of LMAX Digital will significantly enhance its market data.
CF Benchmarks’ CEO, Sui Chung said: “The addition of LMAX Digital as a constituent exchange , given its sizeable share of the institutional market, to some of CF Benchmarks’ most-referenced indices means we can continue to provide the robust, high integrity benchmarks that the cryptocurrency space has become accustomed to, and indeed relies on.”
Indeed, LMAX Digital turned into a major venue for spot cryptocurrency trading by institutions. The platform witnessed a 257 percent spike in its trading volume last October as the figure touched $38 billion.
“We firmly believe in creating frictionless market access for all institutions wanting to participate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” said Jenna Wright, the Managing Director at LMAX Digital.
“The provision of transparent and robust real-time pricing data is critical to enhancing market structure, accurate price discovery and ultimately, is what will help to drive real market growth in the adoption of crypto.”
Increasing Institutional Demand
Cryptocurrency benchmarks have become a necessity with the increasing institutional demand for this asset class. According to CF Benchmarks, its indices are being used by 99 percent of the regulated crypto derivatives market including the contracts offered by the CME Group.
“The inclusion of other constituent exchanges like LMAX Digital will capture broader market participation and further enhance the robustness of these benchmarks at a time when institutional participants are increasingly using our bitcoin and ether futures and options to trade or hedge spot market price risk,” Tim McCourt, CME Group’s Global Head of Equity and FX Products, said.
