Welcome to the latest episode of At the Forefront: Fintech Conversations!
To learn more and listen to our previous episodes, click here.
In this episode, Forefront VP of Account Management CJ Lengua sits down with Brandon Mulvihill, Co-Founder and CEO of Crossover Markets (a digital asset trading technology firm), and Brendan Callan, CEO of Tradu (a newly launched multi-asset retail trading platform). The topic: Crossover and Tradu’s recently announced partnership .
Brendan kicks off the discussion by describing Tradu, part of Jefferies’ Stratos Group and a sister entity to FXCM, one of the industry’s top FX and CFD trading platforms. A “super app” that caters to active investors, Tradu aims to deliver tighter spreads to clients, making Crossover a natural fit as its digital asset execution partner.
Brendan and Brandon go on to discuss how Crossover’s CROSSx electronic communication network (ECN) meets Tradu’s specific needs. Thanks to its affiliation with FXCM, Tradu is intimately familiar with the needs of the retail community. Brandon explains how CROSSx meets Tradu’s needs via a three-pronged approach: configurable liquidity, lightning-fast trading speeds and scalable, high-performance technology. These three factors combine to produce the tighter spreads that traders demand. By working with Crossover to execute the spot crypto trades occurring on its platform, Tradu was able to elevate its offering and accelerate its time to market.
The conversation then turns to how Crossover and Tradu fit into a larger trend: established players bringing TradFi sensibilities to digital assets. Both Brendan and Brandon have extensive experience in more mature markets such as FX and equities, which enables them to implement key best practices around market data, liquidity management and order routing for the crypto space. These considerations are key to ushering in a new era of digital asset market structure. Brandon adds that, in a sector with so much regulatory uncertainty, Tradu’s commitment to being regulated is “part and parcel” with its business model, with compliance recognized as a key to fostering “a safe and trustworthy ecosystem.”
Brandon also discusses what’s next for Crossover, including two major priorities for 2024: continued expansion of its technological footprint to decrease global latency (with Singapore and Tokyo as two potential locations for new data centers) and the addition of new order types, with the ultimate goal of decreasing trading costs for its clients. Brendan and Brandon close the discussion with a walk down memory lane, sharing highlights from their time at FXCM, where they worked together to expand the firm’s then-limited UK presence by closing deals with key industry players.
See below for a breakdown of what was discussed. Happy listening!
Timestamps:
1:20 – The launch of Tradu and how it fits alongside the existing FXCM brand
5:00 – How the CROSSx ECN meets Tradu’s specific needs for spot crypto trading
8:20 – What sets Tradu apart for the retail trader
16:10 – Crossover’s 2024 roadmap and strategic priorities
25:25 – Brendan and Brandon’s shared history at FXCM
