LMAX Digital Reports Strong Growth
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: January 6, 2022
LMAX Digital, the cryptocurrency platform of LMAX Group, says total volumes in 2021 were $515 billion, a 340% increase from 2020. At the same time the number of trades handled by the exchange was 170% higher at just over 82 million.
May was the busiest month of the year, seeing over $70 billion traded, topping out what was a strong start to the year on LMAX Digital, before volumes drifted lower in H2, largely averaging between $30-40 billion per month. Overall, as a 24/7 venue, average daily volumes were just over $1.4 billion, up from just over $300 million per day in 2020.
What LMAX terms large non-banks/HFTs were the largest participant segment on the platform, being responsible for just over 52% of all crypto volume, followed by hedge funds, who collectively contributed just over 31%. The balance was split between brokers and ‘others’.
In terms of instruments, it is noticeable that as the year progressed the balance shifted away from the dominance of bitcoin. While that currency remains easily the heaviest traded, in the last two months of the year it was close to 50% of crypto volume traded, having started the year comfortably above 60% and spending most of it close to that percentage. The shift is as much the result of a decline in Bitcoin activity as anything else as Ether activity remained fairly steady throughout the year.
This is reflected to a degree in average trade size on LMAX Digital, in Ether it rose from just over $4,300 in January, to close to its highest of the year above $7,300. Bitcoin, meanwhile, saw average trade sizes rise from just under $14,000 in January to $18,400 in March, before steadily declining (save for a blip higher in October) to close to its low for the year, just over $8,300.