Connectivity is the lifeblood of currency trading, and the speed at which messages and data get from one point to the other matters. This is especially true given the highly fragmented and complex structure that foreign-exchange markets have developed.
Currency market and digital asset connectivity provider 4OTC knows this well, taking the world’s best low-latency FX solution title in 2025. Its ultra-low-latency infrastructure and connectivity services address the fragmentation problem and reduce operational complexity for clients including hedge funds, liquidity providers (LPs), trading venues and exchanges.
“We’re aiming to be the AWS of financial markets connectivity,” says Alexis Atkinson, co-founder of 4OTC, noting his confidence in holding a leading position in minimising latency in FX.
Connectivity is a competitive advantage when it is more robust, reliable and faster than what others use. Being the connecting tissue between hundreds of points, each with its own set of protocols and APIs, means that writing code is a surprisingly intricate business. Understanding the nuances of the market is therefore paramount, as a single miscalculation or mistake could lead to connectivity issues, data discrepancies and operational inefficiencies.
4OTC minimises latency through a combination of leading infrastructure, innovative software and market microstructure expertise and it ensures high levels of uptime and data integrity by operating robust infrastructure, redundant systems and vigilant monitoring.
The magic of it is that we handle all the workflow, including post-trade
Alexis Atkinson
The team believes in its product: it publishes connectivity speed for every single message, with nanosecond-level timestamping, which allows customers to compare providers based on real performance data.
“Don’t trust us, but actually verify it – that’s the key point,” Atkinson adds.
A key advantage of Libra, 4OTC’s flagship FX product, is on the operational side: it supports firm and non-firm workflows, and if a bank wants to supply liquidity to a venue it can go ahead via the network without having to do development work.
And it also supports lifecycle events such as rejections, while giving control to the exchange and the LP to resolve the issue after Libra flags the reception to both sides.
“The magic of it is that we handle all the workflow, including post-trade,” Atkinson says, pointing to TicketLounge, the firm’s automated post-trade solution. TicketLounge processed 10 million institutional tickets in one week in April when president Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement roiled markets.
In terms of ticket volumes, Atkinson said the company runs one of the largest networks in the $7.5 trillion-a-day market.
“We think we’re running one of the significant installations really in the FX space,” he says.
But it is no use being in the fastest of cars if the engine doesn’t turn on or if the car has to idle in front of a red light. Considering how intricate it can be to code to individual venues without breaking the whole network, the onboarding process can be lengthy.
For Atkinson, the speed of onboarding is another vital differentiator, as well as how fast clients can set up new sessions and how quickly they can change their set-up if they want to. This is an area that the team has worked “very hard” with customers, and it will continue to be a priority.
This is because while latency has been a topic of conversation in FX for years, how those changes that happen over the medium to long term can be affected has not been a focus.
“FX is a bit of a walk in the park because at least you get the weekends off,” says Atkinson. “You certainly don’t in digital assets.” But Atkinson is confident, adding: “We believe that we are set for an explosion of growth on both the FX and the digital asset side.”
