LMAX Gets in the Crypto Perp Game: Big Leverage, Bigger Risk, and Even Bigger Clients

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Ah, LMAX Group, the London-based fintech company, is here to sprinkle some more spice into the world of crypto derivatives. They’ve just launched perpetual futures contracts for Bitcoin and Ether, but hold on to your wallets-this is for the *big boys*. Yep, institutional clients only. Sorry, retail investors, you’ll have to wait until the rest of us have gambled away our savings first.

According to Bloomberg (you know, the place where all the serious money people hang out), LMAX’s exchange is already moving over $40 billion in daily volume across forex and digital assets. And it turns out, their customers want more. And by more, they mean *high-leverage access* to crypto markets. Because, who needs a calm, rational approach to investing when you can have *100x leverage*?

“Perpetual futures have been running the crypto market for the last three or four years,” said David Mercer, CEO of LMAX. Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. You don’t say. “Our institutional clients, including top proprietary trading firms and brokers, are looking for that kind of exposure.” Yeah, because nothing screams “stable financial system” like perpetual futures contracts. 🙄

Now, in case you’re wondering what the heck a *perpetual* futures contract is (I had to Google it myself), here’s the lowdown: It’s like a regular futures contract, but it never expires. The fun just never stops. And LMAX is offering *up to 100x leverage* because why not? If you’re going to gamble, might as well go all in, right?

Meanwhile, crypto trading in perpetual futures is… well, it’s the *king* of the crypto world. In 2025, they accounted for 68% of all Bitcoin trading. That’s up from 66% last year. That’s not just growth, that’s *growth* on steroids. The big exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX hold nearly 70% of open interest in these products. Some days, they move as much as $80 billion in perps. So, yeah, no big deal.

And let’s not forget about decentralized platforms, like those on DefiLlama, who processed a mere $20.5 billion in 24-hour volume. The whole space has seen a 16.84% weekly surge. Talk about a rise-and-grind mentality. Hyperliquid alone pumped out $65 billion in seven-day volume. Because who needs a savings account when you can have *that* kind of liquidity? 🙃

Perps Finally Come to the US

LMAX is not just playing in Europe anymore. Oh no, they’re setting their sights on the US. Major US exchanges are now offering retail access to perpetual futures. Coinbase jumped on that train in July, and even the CBOE is gearing up to roll out their version in November. Because if America doesn’t have it, it’s not really happening, right?

Across the pond, Europe’s One Trading also launched MiFID II-compliant perpetuals-again, institutional clients only. But who knows? Maybe one day they’ll let regular people in on the fun. A girl can dream.

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2025-09-17 11:20