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In the second part of his video Interview with Profit & Loss, LMAX Group CEO David Mercer talks to Colin Lambert about taking LMAX to the next level through the establishment of new exchanges where necessary and, most pertinently, building a strong market data business.

He notes that market data is becoming a more relevant line for LMAX Exchange now that it is starting to hit high volumes markets in the $20-40 billion per day range, adding, “This is a big growth area for us…To help our business become more mature and operate even better we need to build recurring revenues that are market data driven.”

He adds that the recent big days experienced by LMAX Exchange are the “advertising”, however customers are always quick to ask what the ADV (average daily volume) is. “We are always striving to get into the 20-30 yard range in ADV,” he say. “Once you have that, you are at the stage where everyone who is making a price in foreign exchange needs to have that market data in their pricing stack.

“Previously while the live streaming data would have been valuable it may not have been essential,” he adds. “But now it has become essential and that is helping us build our credibility and have better conversations with customers.”

Watch the whole video to hear more on this, as well as the changing nature of the debate in FX markets around last look, and what it takes to maintain momentum in crypto markets – especially as central banks move closer to issuing digital currencies.