London-based fintech powerhouse LMAX Group has officially entered the leveraged crypto derivatives race, unveiling perpetual futures contracts for Bitcoin and Ethereum targeted at institutional traders. The firm, known for handling over $40 billion in daily spot trading volume across FX and digital assets, said the launch was driven by strong client demand for high-leverage access to crypto markets.

Perpetual futures, or “perps,” function like standard futures but have no expiry date. LMAX’s contracts will allow up to 100x leverage, powered by its established risk management systems built over 15 years in leveraged FX and CFDs. The contracts are priced using multiple institutional liquidity providers and settled in US dollars via bank rails, with pricing data secured by the Pyth oracle. Funding rates, adjusted every eight hours, ensure contract prices stay aligned with spot markets.

Perps dominate crypto trading globally, representing 68% of Bitcoin trading volume this year, up from 66% in 2024, according to Kaiko. Leading exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX account for nearly 70% of open interest, with daily trading volumes swinging between $10 billion and $30 billion. On peak days, Binance alone clears $80 billion in perp volume. In the past 24 hours, CoinMarketCap data shows crypto perps clocked $1.39 trillion in trading, dwarfing traditional futures at just $670 million.

Decentralized perpetual platforms are also gaining ground. Data from DefiLlama shows DeFi-based perps handled $20.5 billion in daily trading, with 30-day activity hitting $683.5 billion — a nearly 17% weekly surge. Hyperliquid led the pack with $65 billion over seven days.

LMAX’s move comes as perpetuals gain traction in regulated markets. Coinbase introduced perps to US clients in July, while the CBOE is set to launch its own version in November. In Europe, One Trading has already rolled out MiFID II-compliant perps for institutions, with plans to eventually expand to retail investors.