Sometimes It’s Good to Be Passive: Make the Most of FX Spot+
The launch of FX Spot+ enables OTC spot FX traders to interact with the substantial liquidity of FX futures from CME Group and the large, diverse ecosystem of nearly 1,200 institutions. This new offering provides two key use cases and potential benefits: one for liquidity takers and another for those placing passive orders.
For takers of liquidity
FX Spot+ provides spot traders with access to the substantial pool of FX futures liquidity, which reached an all-time, highest single-day volume of $314 billion in 2024. This feature alone offers significant advantages, but it is only half the benefit.
For makers in spot
FX Spot+ also introduces a unique opportunity for spot traders to place passive spot orders that can be aggressed upon by native spot orders, and which can interact with the hugely diverse FX futures market. Passive trading in FX Spot+ is free to all participants for 2025, making this a compelling way for traders to get the most from their interactions with FX Spot+.
Passive orders with implication technology
Through our implication technology, bids and offers placed in FX Spot+ are combined with resting liquidity in FX Link to represent resting liquidity in our FX futures. This integration introduces a new dimension and scope to passive fill opportunities for the OTC market.
Once an OTC trader has placed a spot order in the FX Spot+ order book then not only can another FX Spot+ customer aggress onto that price using a "native" spot order, but the implication technology will also translate the spot order into a resting futures order. This translation allows the entire futures ecosystem to see and interact with the resting interest, maximizing the chances of the order being filled.
The OTC spot trader interacting with FX Spot+ will only book and settle a spot trade, but the implication technology and linkage between FX Spot+ and FX futures significantly increase the number and diversity of customers who can see and interact with any resting order. This increases both the probability and frequency of expected fills.
Passive orders in FX Spot+ imply futures liquidity
In addition to native (spot vs. spot) orders on FX Spot+, our implication technology will also allow for resting spot orders in FX Spot+ to be represented as resting orders in the FX futures market - enabling aggressing activity in futures on liquidity provided in FX Spot+.
The combination of native resting orders in FX Spot+ and in FX Link represents firm prices and quantities in FX futures - providing OTC users unique access to new passive matching opportunities.
FX Spot+ trader bid combines with FX Link trader bid to represent FX futures bid:
| FXS+ | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| GBP/USD | 5m | 1.2922 | - | - |
| FX Link | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| GBP/USD | 1,000 | -2.0 | - | - |
| Futures | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| GBP/USD | 80 | 1.2920 | - | - |
- Aggressing seller in GBP futures fills for 80 contracts
- FX Link trader buys 80 futures contracts, sells 5 mio GBP/USD spot
- FX Spot+ trader filled passively for 5 mio GBP/USD spot
FX Spot+ trader offer combines with FX Link trader offer to represent FX futures bid:
| FXS+ | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| USD/CAD | - | - | 1.4349 | 4m |
| FX Link | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| USD/CAD | - | - | -67.5 | 1,000 |
| Futures | Qty | Bid | Offer | Qty |
| CAD/USD | 57 | 0.70020 | - | - |
- Aggressing seller in CAD futures fills for 57 contracts
- FX Link trader buys 57 futures contracts, buys $3.972 mio USD/CAD spot
- FX Spot+ trader filled passively for $3.972 mio USD/CAD spot. Remaining quantity would be cancelled by CME Globex.
FX futures and options have a highly diverse ecosystem of customers, including banks, proprietary trading firms, asset managers, hedge funds, corporates and retail brokers. In 2024, this ecosystem comprised 104,000 unique users across nearly 1,200 entities.
FX Spot+ testing is currently available in our New Release environment, and a production mock trading session is scheduled for the end of March. For more information on FX Spot+ and the potential opportunities it offers, or to take part in the upcoming mock trading session, contact FXteam@cmegroup.com.
All examples in this report are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation purposes only. The views in this report reflect solely those of the author and not necessarily those of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. This report and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.
