FX Trading Venues in 2024 – a Big Tick
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: February 3, 2025
Final data for 2024 shows that, thanks to increased volatility and possibly more customers putting their dealers in competition, FX trading venues had a banner year, with several hitting new highs in average daily volume (ADV) terms.
While there were some notable events in the FX market in 2024, most notably perhaps the carry trade blow-up either side of the end of July, what stands out from the data is how different platforms had their busiest month at different times. There were boosts in April, July and August from Japanese intervention, and of course there was the US election and all the uncertainty that came with that, in November.
As our review below highlights, while some peaks were predictable – EBS benefiting from the Asian mini-swoon in July/August, others were less so, or at least did not follow a pattern. FXSpotStream, a model very different to EBS Market (but not EBS Direct), also hit its spot peak in August, while LSEG FX did so in September.
Again, two different models, Euronext FX and 360T (the latter does have its GTX ECN but, like LSEG FX and CME’S EBS, does not break out volumes across its platforms) had their peaks in November, probably thanks to the US election, while Cboe FX clearly benefited from yen volatility across the month of April, hitting its highest then. Interestingly, for EBS, another venue with a strong yen franchise, that was only its fifth-busiest month of the year, although April was, at the time, its busiest since March 2020.
Across the seven venues to report monthly spot ADV (Including CME), the collective growth was 10.2%. For comparison, CLS data indicates the settlement service provider, which does not support CNH, saw an increase in spot volumes of 6.4%.
Here, in alphabetical order, is a more in-depth review of those platforms that report data.
360T
Whichever way one looks at it, 360T had a banner year, largely thanks to its non-spot business. Average ADV for the year was EUR 146.5 billion, up 15.9% on 2023, which was itself a new peak for the platform. Using a fixed exchange rate of 1.15 to help year-on-year analysis (360T reports spot and NDF volume in US dollars) non-spot volumes rose some 17.4% on the year or by just under $18 billion per day. Included in this was a near $500 million per day increase in NDF volume to $1.74 billion per day. It should be noted using a floating exchange rate would reduce the increase slightly, by around $1 billion per day.
The platform continued its pattern of strong quarter ends, hitting new peaks for total volume in March, June and, as noted, December. 360T also breached the EUR 150 billion threshold in June, and did so again in September and December, but perhaps most notably, it came close in November at EUR 149.9 billion – its highest non-quarter-end month ever.
Within this, 360T also had a good year in spot, but its growth wasn’t as spectacular, coming in at +9.4%. November, at $31.6 billion, was the firm’s highest spot ADV since March 2020 when it handled $36.9 billion. It surpassed the $30 billion per day threshold for the first time since then in June, and repeated the feat four more times, bringing its average ADV for the year to $29.6 billion.
Total Volume Spot Volume
2023 – 2024 +15.9% +9.4%
2020 – 2024 +68.6% +26.5%
2015 – 2024 +166% N/A
24Exchange
Still a relative newcomer to the market, 24Exchange has put out some impressive numbers for its NDF venue, the only data it reports, and in 2024 it first breached the $3 billion per day mark for the first time in March, and then followed that up by breaking through $4 billion just five months later for a new peak of $4.14 billion per day.
Overall NDF volume at 24Exchange was $3.22 billion across the year, a 78.8% increase from 2023.
Cboe FX
Inevitably, given its more mature business, the pace of growth at Cboe FX was slower than some of its peers, but it still turned in some impressive numbers and hit a new high for ADV in both spot, and NDFs on its SEF. The latter remains a relatively new business at Cboe, but for the second year in a row it saw ADV above $1 billion per day, rising 29.2% to $1.37 billion per day.
In spot, annual ADV was up 4.1% to 45.4 billion per day, and for the first time in its history, which started with Hotspot of course, every month at Cboe FX saw spot ADV above $40 billion. Within this, ADV on the venue’s firm streams rose by around 5% (Cboe FX publishes rounded numbers for firm liquidity).
Cboe FX peaked with the volatility in April at $50 billion per day, the second highest ADV reported, after, naturally, March 2020, which was $55 billion.
Spot Volume
2023 – 2024 +4.1%
2020 – 2024 +30.6%
2015 – 2024 +69.4%
CME Group
At 1,029,000 FX contracts per day, CME Group’s FX futures and options franchise had its biggest year yet in terms of contracts, beating the previous high of just over one million in 2018, however there are nuances to the data thanks to the growth in popularity of smaller contracts.
Analysis of CME data suggests that the average contract size traded in FX on the exchange has dropped, from just over $99,000 per contract in 2021, to just under $86,000 per contract in 2024 – something that muddies the waters for those looking to analyse in notional terms. Recently, CME has provided notional values – it averaged $88.4 billion per day in 2024, but historically this has not always been the case, hence why comparisons are tricky.
Using an estimate that put the average contract size at $95,000 for 2022, $87000 for 2023, and $99,400 for the years before that, CME’s FX notional rose 6.4% in 2024 and is the fourth highest in the last decade.
CME’s FX Link also had a good year, hitting a new high at just under $3.9 billion per day, in this, the third full year of operation.
Futures & Options Notional Volume FX Link
(estimated*)
2023 – 2024 +6.4% 2023 – 2024 +93.4%
2020 – 2024 +3.2% N/A
2015 – 2024 +2% N/A
*in contract terms, CME FX was +7.7%, +19.4% and +18% respectively
EBS
The increased volatility, especially the events in JPY and CNH, helped CME’s EBS recover from its nasty 2023 when it hit its lowest levels since the early days of the platform – although its annual average of $59.4 billion is the second lowest since the platform started reporting results.
There were some bright spots for EBS during the year, however, and the fact that it, with FXSpotStream, which has historically been strong with Japanese brokers, were the only two platforms to hit their peak around the carry trade blow up, highlights the value of the firm’s Asian franchise.
EBS did breach the $70 billion per day mark twice in 2024 – something it failed to do in 2023 – doing so in August and November, but this was countered by the platform reporting its lowest ADV since it started reporting in 2007 with just $45 billion in February. The Lunar New Year was widely seen as a factor in this, reiterating the importance of Asia to EBS.
Spot Volume
2023 – 2024 +4.9%
2020 – 2024 -17%
2015 – 2024 -37.3%
Euronext FX
Euronext FX was another platform to hit a new high for annual ADV, pushing to $26.5 billion per day, surpassing its previous peak in 2022 ($22.6 billion). It also hit its second busiest ADV in its history in November, at $29.2 billion per day.
It was a solid year for the platform, with every month exceeding $20 billion per day for the first time, and in addition to November, it peaked in April and August, suggesting it is able to attract traders in volatile conditions.
That is the good news for Euronext, the potentially concerning news comes in a drop in fill rates on its venues, especially the platform, which saw an average fill rate of 83.9% in the last nine months of 2023 (from when it started reporting performance data), to 78.4% in 2024, with the drop most noticeable from July. In fact, the decline was exclusively in the second half of the year, with fill rates in H1 of 82.2% and in H2 of just 74.7%.
Overall, across its three streams (Skew Safe, Full Amount and Platform), Euronext’s fill rates rose slightly from the last nine months of 2023 (by 0.6% to 84.7%), but again there was a sharp drop off in H2, from 86.4% to 83%. For comparison, Cboe FX, which reports similar data saw its fill rate drift by 0.3% from the last nine months of 2023 to full year 2024, and its H2 rate was 88.2% compared to 90.5% in H1.
Back on the positives for Euronext FX, 10 of the 12 months in 2024 recorded the highest ADV for that month, suggesting it is building a solid base from which to grow.
Spot Volume
2023 – 2024 +18.1%’
2020 – 2024 +23.6%
2015 – 2024 +217%
FXSpotStream
The growth at FXSpotStream has resumed after a flat year in 2023, with the platform growing volumes and adding liquidity providers in 2024, and while it has grown its non-spot business, the core spot offering is more than holding its own in driving the growth.
Twice the service managed to breach the $100 billion mark across all FX products, while its spot volumes went above $70 billion per day in three months – the first time it has done so.
As noted, FXSS’ spot peak was in August, likely helped by a surge in trading from its Japanese brokerage clients, but in non-spot products it was September, nearly matched by December, suggesting that it is, in addition to its $3 billion per-day NDF business, starting to attract some quarter-end FX swaps business from its client base.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of FXSpotStream’s year is the sheer scale of its intra-year growth – in total volume, from Q1 to Q4, the service saw growth in excess of 25%, the only platform to come near is EBS at +19%.
The only potential challenge to the service could come in the form of European and UK authorities starting to enforce the Trading Perimeter guidance, as FXSS is not yet an MTF, although no doubt this is being looked at by the venue’s management.
Spot Volumes Non-Spot Volumes
2023 – 2024 +28.3% +96.1%
Total Volumes
2023 – 2024 +42.2%
2020 – 2024 +110.7%
2015 – 2024 +500%
LSEG FX
LSEG’s FX business hit $100 billion in ADV in 2024 across its platforms, the first time it has hit, let alone breached, what used to be a regular threshold for the legacy Reuters FX business since 2015 (it came close in 2022 and 2018).
As is the case with EBS and 360T, LSEG does not break down volumes between its platforms, and it is noticeable that LSEG’s numbers do jump at the quarter ends, which is a phenomena usually associated with FX swaps and outrights, but also may be attributable to more spot trading around the quarter end Fix.
September was the busiest month for LSEG FX in 2024 at $109 billion per day, and overall it had six months above the $100 billion threshold. This happened in 2022, but before that it last occurred in 2015.
LSEG’s non-spot business, which again is across multiple venues, also hit a new peak at $378.3 billion, with the September quarter end seeing it breach $400 billion for the first time, at $419 billion per day during that month.
Spot Volumes Non-Spot Volumes
2023 – 2024 +4.4% +9.1%
2020 – 2024 +14.5% +10.9%
2015 – 2024 -9.8% +29.4%
A Look Ahead
Clearly the key for all platforms in 2025 will be the level of volatility, and sources at the venues say January has provided a good start to the year, with monetary policy and geo-political uncertainty still driving business.
The first point of interest for this business segment, however, is likely to be the launch, slated for March, of CME’s FX Spot+. How this interacts with EBS and the Merc’s listed business will be fascinating to see.
Beyond that eyes will turn to an event that will provide a benchmark of sorts for the platform world, The BIS Triennial FX Turnover Survey, likely to be published in September. There is no doubt that 2024 was a really good year for platforms, and with the uncertain environment likely to continue, 2025 could be the same, but the BIS survey will provide us with an idea of how quickly the broader market is growing.
Collectively in 2024, those platforms to publish spot data (including CME’s futures and options) saw volume increase by 8.2% from 2023, but as observed above, there was some significant differences in performance. There does appear to be a continued trend amongst liquidity consumers to put their dealers in competition, which helps some models, and then to dive for the ECN/CLOB model when things get very volatile.
If this continues in 2025 then the venues will again experience a good year, but again it will be nuanced. In 2024, and taking into account it is an estimate due to the opaque reporting of some firms, it is noticeable that four of the five firms largely operating an ECN/CLOB, grew the least year-on-year. Euronext FX was the exception, but as noted, if consumers start paying more attention to the cost of rejects, this could be short-lived unless conditions improve.
The greater growth seems to have come in the relationship, disclosed model, something that has been evident for several years now in the FX market. Indeed, the more robust nature of liquidity provision on these venues, suggests that this trend will continue – the good news for the other platforms, is that their business is also growing, albeit at a slower pace.
The outlook for 2025 is optimistic, but, as noted, some perspective will be provided by the BIS survey. If the yen continues to weaken and Japan’s authorities seek to stem its fall, there will be yet another boost to activity, but what is probably most pleasing is that unlike some recent years, growth does not seem to be entirely dependent upon it.