Partnerships are crucial in the B2B side of the trading industry. Some companies offer liquidity while others offer technology; some offer execution, and others distribution. Strategic deals help these companies expand offerings and reach potential clients. Last month, Finalto and Gold-i entered into such a partnership.
Finalto connected Gold-i's liquidity management platform, MatrixNET, directly into its trading and account management system, ClearVision. Finalto's broker clients are receiving more FX and crypto liquidity aggregation or distribution options with the integration.
"Gold-i was one of Finalto's first technology providers when we were known as CFH Clearing," Paul Groves, the UK B2B CEO at Finalto, told Finance Magnates. "The Finalto/MatrixNET relationship is the closest the two companies have worked for many years. We have always used Gold-i's bridges and various plug-ins to great success, but the introduction of MatrixNET is a far more in-depth partnership that will benefit all involved."
Gold-i's Move to Create a Single Liquidity Platform
MatrixNET is the liquidity distribution platform of Gold-i. In September, the company integrated its Matrix2 liquidity management platform and Crypto Switch™, its institutional digital asset solution, into MatrixNet to create a single, comprehensive liquidity management and distribution platform.
"We wanted to streamline our multi-asset offering for clients of all sizes, from start-ups to enterprise level. This is for whether they are connecting to one or many LPs," said Gold-i's Founder and CEO, Tom Higgins. "We have also enhanced our previous offerings by adding extra functionality such as B-book protection features."
Higgins explained MatrixNET: "MartixNET is a flexible and scalable distribution and aggregation platform for FX liquidity. MatrixNET can also cater to the needs of FX brokers seeking to add crypto to their FX platforms, providing deep and tight access to crypto liquidity. Conversely, our crypto native clients, who are operating in an increasingly institutional-focused environment, can benefit from the advanced functionality that the FX world has come to expect."
Moreover, the company enhanced the platform's technological capabilities by adding support for REST and WebSockets, which are popular within the crypto ecosystem, in addition to the standard FIX protocol.
A Strategic Integration
Finalto, now owned by Hong Kong-based Gorper Investments, is a well-known liquidity provider. Its offerings extended to other technology offerings, including proprietary trading platforms, CRM software, back office and business intelligence systems, and more.
"A liquidity management platform is nothing without great liquidity, as much as great liquidity is nothing without distribution," Higgins emphasized.
"MatrxiNET is ideally placed to help leading liquidity providers like Finalto get better access to FX retail brokers, but at a much lower cost, and with much more flexible contract terms than they could get before. MatrixNET covers the key functionality that retail brokers need, such as advanced B-book management and speed bumps, as well as the nuances of the crypto space and the specific needs of liquidity providers," he elaborated.
"Finalto's decision to extend our partnership by embedding MatrixNET into ClearVision as an additional distribution and aggregation platform for their FX liquidity is a strong validation of our offering. They clearly recognize the benefits we can bring to them, and we hope that other LPs will follow."
Meanwhile, Groves highlighted: "Cost-effective price distribution covered by fair and flexible contracts is what Finalto requires from their technology partners. Gold-i covered all bases with these subjects, but also presented to Finalto another medium of showing their prices in multiple products to an existing and potential range of professional clients globally."
Enhancing Offerings to Clients
The connection ClearVision with MatrixNET will further enhance Finalto's offerings to brokers and other clients.
"The addition of MatrixNET as a tech provider to Finalto will allow clients to access our liquidity seamlessly within the ecosystem created without any further integration or development on our clients' side," Groves added. "Also, as MatrixNET sits on Finalto's LD4 Infrastructure, clients will benefit from the low latency fully cross-connected setup that we possess. What also should be mentioned is the financial aspect, as MatrixNET provides a cost-efficient solution for clients."
"We will soon be utilizing their web socket tool for data distribution, and our teams have regular dialogue, so there will be no doubt that in the future, we will be investigating other products and services that Gold-i offers."
Expanding Reach
Apart from the Finalto partnership, Gold-i enhanced the capabilities of its offerings with the integration of solutions of Hidden Road. The company recently established a presence in Cyprus, home to many brokers, with the appointment of a local consulting firm as its representative.
"Businesses and markets go in cycles, and having been in business a long time, we have seen quite a few of these cycles and have structured ourselves to thrive, whatever the world throws at us," Higgins said.
