Fintech firm LMAX launches BTC, ETH perps for institutional traders

LMAX Group entered the crypto derivatives arena with 100x leveraged perpetual futures for institutional investors, citing increased demand for these tools.

London-based fintech company LMAX Group has entered the leveraged crypto derivatives market, unveiling perpetual futures contracts tied to Bitcoin and Ether aimed at institutional clients.

The exchange, which averages over $40 billion in daily spot volume across FX and digital assets, said the move was driven by client demand for high-leverage access to crypto markets, according to a Wednesday report by Bloomberg.

“Perpetual futures have dominated the crypto market for the last three or four years,” LMAX CEO David Mercer said. “Our institutional clients, including top proprietary trading firms and brokers, are looking for that kind of exposure,” Mercer added.

Perpetuals are a type of financial derivative that functions like a traditional futures contract but without an expiration date. LMAXs offering will allow as much as 100x leverage. LMAX operates forex brokers in the UK, Europe, New Zealand and Mauritius, per its website.

Cointelegraph reached out to LMAX Group for comment, but had not received a response by publication.

Perps dominate crypto trading volume

Perpetual futures dominate crypto trading activity, accounting for 68% of all Bitcoin (BTC) volume so far in 2025, up from 66% last year, according to Kaiko.

Leading exchanges like Binance, Bybit and OKX hold nearly 70% of open interest in these products, with daily perp volumes ranging between $10 billion and $30 billion, and peak days reaching as high as $80 billion on Binance alone, per Kaiko.

According to CoinMarketCap data, perpetuals have dominated crypto derivatives trading in the past 24 hours with $1.39 trillion in volume, far surpassing traditional futures contracts, which saw just $670.61 million.

Perpetuals dominated crypto derivatives trading. Source: CoinMarketCap

Meanwhile, per data from DefiLlama, decentralized perpetual platforms collectively processed $20.5 billion in 24-hour volume, with a 30-day total topping $683.5 billion, reflecting a 16.84% weekly surge. Hyperliquid alone contributed over $65 billion in seven-day volume.

Decentralized perpetual platforms collectively processed $20.5 billion in 24-hour volume. Source: DefiLlama

Perps arrive in the US

LMAX Groups push into the crypto derivatives market comes as major US venues move to offer retail access to perpetual futures. Coinbase began offering perps to US customers in July, and the CBOE plans to launch its version in November.

In April, Europes One Trading launched MiFID II-compliant perpetuals, though the offering is limited to institutional clients. The platform plans to expand the product to eligible retail clients.