Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) and Hotspot FX, Inc (Hotspot FX) today announced that Hotspot FX will provide access to its spot foreign exchange marketplaces via TT's X_TRADER® order entry platform. The arrangement marks the first cross-market extension of X_TRADER into the cash foreign exchange markets.
Hotspot FX, which is the first spot FX marketplace to connect to TT's platform, will connect via TT's high-speed FIX Gateway. The Gateway is based on Financial Information eXchange (FIX) Protocol connectivity and was announced on August 3rd. Hotspot FX expects to launch trading on the TT platform during the fourth quarter of 2004. All X_TRADER users will have the option to trade Hotspot FX products.
The recently launched FIX Gateway allows exchanges, investment banks and other organizations to link their trading infrastructures to TT's X_TRADER platform via FIX, an open-standard protocol that is widely used in the equities industry. TT is believed to be the only futures Independent Software Vendor (ISV) to offer a back-end market connectivity interface using the FIX protocol for the derivatives industry.
"We are excited that Hotspot FX will connect to our X_ TRADER platform because Hotspot FX's spot foreign exchange marketplaces are of keen interest to our customers. Spot FX will give our X_TRADER users access to a new asset class and new cross-asset trading strategies. Furthermore, this will create additional sales opportunities for TT," said Harris Brumfield, TT's CEO.
"Hotspot FX's live, executable, multibank spot FX marketplaces will bring exciting new trading and risk management opportunities to X_TRADER users. Our link with TT furthers our goal to expand access to our marketplace by providing it through leading platforms such as X_TRADER," said John H. Eley, President and CEO of Hotspot FX, Inc.
To trade Hotspot FX on X_TRADER, omnibus or direct accounts will be set up with Hotspot FX's clearing network. Trades executed on Hotspot FXi, Hotspot FX's institutional marketplace, are cleared through a network of top-rated clearing banks and prime brokers. Trades executed on Hotspot FX, the company's retail platform, are cleared through its FCM.
Separately, Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) and the IntercontinentalExchange® (ICE®) today announced that TT has passed conformance testing with the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), ICE's regulated futures exchange subsidiary. TT is now classified by IPE as an approved Independent Software Vendor (ISV). Traders will be able to use TT's X_TRADER® software to seamlessly execute trades in all electronic futures energy contracts listed on IPE, as well as all cleared over-the-counter (OTC) energy products listed on ICE.
TT has become the first ISV to connect to ICE's electronic OTC markets, which have more than 870 participant firms and list more than 600 unique products in oil, natural gas, power and precious metals. Previously, ICE participants accessed the electronic trading platform, known as the "Interchange®", exclusively through WebICE, a browser based trading screen.
This marks the first offering of energy products to TT's customer base. TT is presently installing ICE/IPE exchange gateways at a number of key customer sites including Goldenberg, Hehmeyer & Co., Kingstree Trading, Refco Global Futures, Saxon Financials, Schneider Trading Associates and XConnect Trading. TT expects many leading proprietary trading houses, Futures Clearing Merchants (FCMs), brokerages, banks and other trading institutions will utilize the X_TRADER platform to trade IPE and ICE products as additional trading gateways are installed.
"This is TT's first foray into the energy arena and it is being very well received by our customers. The energy markets offer incredible opportunities to trade and manage risk, and ICE and IPE are leaders in this field. We are thrilled to be able to provide X_TRADER users with access to ICE and IPE products," said Harris Brumfield, TT's CEO.
"We are excited to broaden the availability of energy products to more participants together with TT," said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE's Chairman and CEO. "Trading Technologies has broken new ground in developing access to the OTC Cleared markets and will provide us with an important new distribution channel for both ICE and IPE's rapidly growing energy markets."