Vinay Trivedi, COO at SGX FX, says the institutional FX market is moving toward a hybrid structure combining electronification, modular technology, capital efficiency, and smarter liquidity access. In an interview with Finance Feeds, Trivedi explained that demand is strongest in three areas: sell-side modernization, buy-side workflow automation, and direct liquidity access. This shift reflects deeper industry changes as maintaining in-house FX platforms requires continuous investment in connectivity, compliance, and low-latency infrastructure while liquidity fragments across venues and counterparties.
SGX FX Operates Three Platforms for Modular Liquidity Access
SGX FX approaches market structure through three distinct platforms. BidFX serves buy-side workflows, MaxxTrader focuses on sell-side firms and brokers, while CurrencyNode acts as a neutral ECN layer.
According to Trivedi, the market is moving away from one-size-fits-all trading systems and toward specialized infrastructure connected through a common framework. "The market is no longer debating build vs buy," Trivedi says. "The reality is that modular, interoperable platforms like BidFX, MaxxTrader, and CurrencyNode enable institutions to plug into liquidity and distribution in weeks, not years."
He argues that the growing preference for outsourced infrastructure reflects deeper changes across the industry. "The shift toward outsourcing trading infrastructure is being driven by a combination of economic pressure, technological complexity, and speed-to-market requirements," Trivedi says. For many banks and brokers, white-label platforms now provide institutional-grade capabilities at a fraction of the cost and implementation time required to build internally.
Trivedi says firms are choosing to outsource technology so they can focus on areas that directly drive revenue and client retention. "Rather than diverting resources toward maintaining trading infrastructure, institutions are prioritising core revenue drivers—liquidity provision, client relationships, and execution quality."
"The conversation has fundamentally shifted," he added. "The future stack is modular, data-driven, and distribution-first." He argues that legacy architectures are struggling to keep pace with the rate of change across electronic markets. "Monolithic FX systems simply cannot keep up with today's speed of innovation."
"White-label infrastructure is no longer a cost decision—it's a strategic one," Trivedi says. "Firms want to focus on liquidity and client relationships, not maintaining plumbing."
Broker Technology Shifts Toward Modular, Data-Led, Cloud-Native Architecture
Vinay Trivedi, who has more than 15 years of experience in FX and digital asset trading infrastructure, says three changes will define broker technology over the next 2–3 years: modular architecture, data-led decision-making, and outsourced cloud infrastructure.
The first change is the break-up of legacy systems into separate, interoperable components. Trivedi points to the "decoupling of core functions — pricing, execution, risk management, and distribution — into modular components." Brokers are replacing monolithic systems with API-driven architectures that let them connect to liquidity, analytics, and distribution tools without rebuilding the full stack.
The second change is the move toward data-centric platforms. Analytics, client profiling, and execution optimisation are moving from add-ons into the core broker workflow. Trivedi says SGX FX is investing in this area through SGX FX TickNode, a real-time composite data product covering 75 currencies and 45 pillar dates up to 2 years, and MaxxAI, which provides actionable AI insights.
Together, he says, these changes are pushing the industry toward "agile, service-based models focused on distribution and client outcomes."
OTC and Listed FX Rebalance Driven by Capital Efficiency
Trivedi also sees a real but measured move from OTC FX into listed products. He does not describe it as a full migration. OTC still dominates because of its flexibility, relationship-based liquidity, and ability to handle customised risk.
Still, listed FX is gaining ground where standardised hedging, clearing, and balance sheet efficiency matter. Trivedi says the move is being driven less by regulation alone and more by capital allocation pressures, margin efficiency, and netting benefits available through venues such as SGX.
"This is not a binary shift from OTC to listed — it's a rebalancing driven by capital efficiency," Trivedi says. "Institutions are increasingly using listed FX as a complementary tool to optimise risk, not replace existing workflows."
That hybrid model is especially relevant in high-volume pairs such as USD/CNH and across emerging-market hedging strategies. On SGX, the effect is stronger because the exchange sits between Asia liquidity demand and global capital-efficiency pressures.
USD/CNH Futures Growth Reflects Structural Institutional Adoption
Trivedi says the rise in SGX USD/CNH futures volumes is no longer just a volatility story.
Short-term factors such as China policy moves, rate divergence, and geopolitical uncertainty have boosted activity, but he argues that deeper institutional adoption is now driving the market. Investors are increasingly using USD/CNH futures as a regular hedging and risk-management tool, supported by central clearing, margin efficiency, and balance sheet optimisation.
"The growth we're seeing in USD/CNH is not just a function of volatility — it reflects a structural shift in how institutions access and manage Asia FX risk," Trivedi says.
"Liquidity is becoming more centralised, transparent, and capital-efficient," he adds, "and that strongly favours exchange-based models in key currency pairs."
EM FX Electronification Progresses Unevenly by Region
Trivedi told Finance Feeds that emerging market FX is in the middle stage of electronification. Core liquidity is increasingly available electronically, but the market still carries signs of fragmentation, relationship-based pricing, and uneven transparency.
Unlike G10 FX, which is already highly electronic and standardised, EM FX is moving at different speeds by region. Trivedi points to local reforms, capital flows, and buy-side and sell-side technology adoption as the main drivers.
"EM FX is following the path G10 took a decade ago — moving from voice-driven and relationship-based markets toward electronic, data-driven execution," Trivedi says. "The pace is not uniform, but the direction is clear, and the structural drivers are firmly in place."
He sees USD/CNH, KRW, INR, and TWD as closest to developed-market liquidity and transparency, helped by deeper liquidity pools, wider institutional participation, and a mix of OTC and listed hedging tools. Latin American currencies such as BRL and MXN are progressing quickly, but remain more fragmented and tied to local liquidity conditions. Frontier Asia and parts of Africa are still earlier in the cycle.
Trivedi says SGX FX supports this EMFX structure across BidFX for the buy side, MaxxTrader for the sell side, and CurrencyNode for EM liquidity access, with CNH standing out as one of SGX's strongest areas.
He also frames SGX's Singapore–Brazil FX corridor as more than a one-off project. The corridor is designed to connect distant but economically linked regions, improving price discovery, risk transfer, and capital-flow management between Asia and Latin America.
"The future of FX liquidity is not one central pool, but a network of connected regional hubs," Trivedi says. "What SGX is building is a framework to seamlessly link these markets, enabling more efficient and transparent cross-border liquidity."
That model can be expanded to other corridors linking Asia with the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America as demand for cross-regional hedging grows.
On fragmentation, Trivedi argues that institutions are moving past the old aggregation-versus-venue debate. Aggregation still matters for price discovery and best execution, but specialist venues can offer deeper liquidity, better transparency, or capital efficiency in specific products.
"The industry is moving beyond the aggregation versus venue debate," he says. "The real objective is intelligent liquidity access — using aggregation for breadth, and specialised venues like SGX for depth, transparency, and capital efficiency."
Execution Quality Measured by Outcomes, Not Quotes
Vinay expects cleared and exchange-traded FX to win more institutional flow as prime brokerage capacity remains tight.
"Yes — we do expect clearing models and exchange-traded FX to take a larger share of institutional flow," Trivedi says. PB and prime-of-prime constraints are a key driver, especially as balance sheets remain selective and bilateral credit becomes more expensive.
For Trivedi, this does not mean OTC FX disappears. The market is moving toward a hybrid model where OTC remains core for bespoke risk and relationship liquidity, while listed and cleared FX grows in standardised hedging, tactical positioning, and balance-sheet optimisation.
"Clearing won't replace OTC FX — but in a balance-sheet constrained world it becomes a critical complement," he says. "The growth is structural: clients want capital-efficient access to risk, with scalable governance and transparency."
Trivedi also argues that institutions are judging execution quality differently. The old scorecard of spread and fill rate is no longer enough. "Execution quality today is about outcomes, not quotes," he says.
That means measuring slippage against clean references such as mid, top-of-book, or arrival price, then breaking down implementation shortfall into spread paid, temporary impact, and permanent impact. Post-trade markout has also become essential, especially at intervals such as +100ms, +1s, +5s, and +30s, because it shows whether fills are followed by adverse price moves.
The same applies to certainty. Institutions now track fill ratios, partial fills, reject rates, last-look distributions, hold-time distributions, and latency consistency across size, volatility, and time-of-day. Trivedi says this is where execution analytics matter because clients need data that is "transparent, repeatable, and comparable across liquidity sources."
"The winners are the firms that can evidence that consistently, across regimes and venues," he adds.
On last look, Trivedi sees progress but not full resolution. The FX Global Code has improved disclosure and created clearer expectations, while major liquidity providers now publish more detail on how last look is applied.
Still, the friction remains because disclosures are uneven and difficult to compare. Clients need to know not only whether last look exists, but how it affects outcomes across different sessions and market conditions.
"Transparency only matters if it's measurable," Trivedi says. "Clients don't want marketing language — they want outcomes they can audit: slippage symmetry, certainty of execution, and clear post-trade evidence of how orders were handled."
FAQ
What is SGX FX's approach to institutional FX market structure?
SGX FX operates three platforms: BidFX for buy-side workflows, MaxxTrader for sell-side firms and brokers, and CurrencyNode as a neutral ECN layer. Vinay Trivedi, COO at SGX FX, says the market is moving toward modular, interoperable platforms that enable institutions to plug into liquidity and distribution in weeks, not years.
Why is USD/CNH futures volume growing on SGX?
Trivedi says the rise in SGX USD/CNH futures volumes reflects structural institutional adoption, not just volatility. Investors are increasingly using USD/CNH futures as a regular hedging and risk-management tool, supported by central clearing, margin efficiency, and balance sheet optimisation.
How do institutions measure execution quality in FX?
Trivedi says execution quality today is about outcomes, not quotes. Institutions measure slippage against clean references such as mid, top-of-book, or arrival price, and track post-trade markout at intervals such as +100ms, +1s, +5s, and +30s. They also monitor fill ratios, reject rates, last-look distributions, and latency consistency across size, volatility, and time-of-day.
