Finance Feeds was at the TradeTech FX USA 2022, which took place at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami.
The conference brought together the leading buy-side heads of FX and portfolio management in the return to face-to-face events since the pandemic began.
Contrary to what would be expected out of a pandemic-ridden world economy, the FX industry didn’t slow down. Quite the opposite, in fact, and participants gathered in Miami to learn and discuss the news, innovation, and other pressing matters in the sector.
FinanceFeeds had the chance to set up a written interview with Brian Liedberg and Paul Spillman from ION TradAir. Liedberg, who is the Chief Business Officer, is an accomplished industry veteran with prior senior roles at US Bank, Thomson Reuters and EBS, and Integral. Spillman, who is European Head of Sales, has previously worked at Marex, Gain GTX, ITI Capital, and Barclays.
TradAir’s White Label trading solution marked ION’s first move into cryptocurrency. What can you tell us about the service?
Paul Spillman: With the increasing levels of activity across foreign exchange markets, especially within alternatives, our customers need solutions that can efficiently aggregate liquidity (source pricing from exchanges, brokers and OTC desks).
They also need a price engine that can create bespoke pricing that can be distributed into third-party platforms, exchanges and APIs – at pace. White Label, our end-to-end front office trading solution, does just this and a lot more. It is a fully automated and integrated platform that gives our customers complete control to manage pre-trade risks, liquidity and leverage.
Additionally, White Label ensures all exchanges and OTC desks are FIX ready, both from a price making and price taking perspective, ensuring firms can deliver unique solutions even during periods of extreme market volatility.
The use of multi-crypto fiat pairs is what really makes our solution, and ION, stand out within this competitive market. This full customisable technology allows firms to deliver unique liquidity construction, including synthetic NDF crosses, which preserve their brand identity. This means our customers are able to incorporate their own colours, logos and distinctive flair into their offering, allowing them to differentiate themselves from their peers and retain a competitive edge in the industry.
We have recently covered your partnership with BlockQuake for its crypto liquidity. What benefits do this, and other partnerships bring to the foreign exchange industry?
Brian Liedberg: ION is constantly seeking new ways to help our customers stay ahead of the curve and insulate themselves from the various challenges affecting the FX industry at the moment. However, innovation alone is sometimes not the most time or cost-effective way to solve these problems. As such, we believe in collaborating with our peers for the benefit of our combined customers.
Our recent partnership with BlockQuake is a great example of the positive impact such collaborations have. The combination of our liquidity integration technology and BlockQuake’s extensive crypto and digital asset exchange allows banks and brokers to facilitate the fiat side of crypto trading more easily – which for many is the first point of entry into the world of digital assets.
Not only does this provide traders across the industry with access to a wider selection of assets – which will undoubtedly drive a greater adoption of currencies – but it will also deepen liquidity pools, allowing the successful execution of trades, no matter the size. As we continue to innovate for the industry, we also look forward to partnering with those that complement our offerings to create mutually advantageous solutions for all FX traders.
Liquidity has become the top keyword within the FX industry, but how can brokers make sure they are hiring a reliable solution for liquidity?
Paul Spillman: The importance of liquidity in the FX market cannot be overstressed. Access to greater liquidity not only enables an easier transaction flow, but also makes pricing more competitive. Whilst most brokers require tight spreads, we have found that the depth and stability of liquidity is more important. There is simply no point having a choice price when only half of the trade can be executed, or a trader loses connection eight out of 10.
