FXall Dominates FX ECN Space, March Volumes on Par with February

Trading volumes at FXall one of the world’s leading ECNs in the liquid Foreign Exchange markets were unchanged from a month earlier as the executing venue publishes trading data for march 2013.

FXall recorded average daily trading volume in FX at $110 billion; February saw the same figure and January trade volumes were at $109 billion. Trading volumes have grown 18% since last year and the ECN hit the all-important $100 billion a day figure in December 2012.

The Euro suffered on the back of the Cyprus bank bailout and hit a new 4 month low.

The FX ECN space has been dominated by the awesome 3 platforms, (FXall, Hotspot & Currenex) however 2012 saw a proliferation of new FX venues.

The battle between multi-bank portals and single-bank portals has been a long and steady one, although the banks have been capturing the lions share; the rise of new trading portals with specific characteristics has meant the battle has a new turning point.

However with technology and regulations dictating the market forces, the key question is; how will the new portals sustain their place in an already fragmented market. Phil Weisberg global head of foreign exchange at Thomson Reuters says “We have seen a number of new ventures crop up over the last year that have focused on particular features of a trade life-cycle, primarily Execution . The addition of new currency trading platforms is something we’ve seen before and many fail the test of time".

He continues, "particularly when they are single feature offerings. It’s easy to underestimate what it take to succeed and in particular the costs involved in supporting a platform on an ongoing basis.”

FXall acquired Lava FX from Citi Group in 2010.