About
Become a participant
If you are interested in onboarding, complete the form below and the OptAxe team will be in touch.
Eligibility
Participation is open to firms that meet the admission criteria in the Rulebook. In general that means regulated financial institutions, investment funds and their managers, and non-financial counterparties that are eligible counterparties or professional clients. Retail clients are not admitted.
What happens next
- We confirm participant type, access method and the regulatory position for your jurisdiction.
- You receive the onboarding pack, Participant agreement and Rulebook.
- Documentation and KYC, then connectivity and testing, then go-live.
Before you apply
Questions applicants ask
Can we apply if we are not based in the United Kingdom?
Yes. OptAxe admits institutions from any jurisdiction on application, and the venue is operated from London under FCA authorisation. What differs by jurisdiction is the basis on which your firm can access a UK venue, so we confirm your position on the initial call before any documentation is issued. The current position for the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, Canada and the European Union is set out on the regulatory status page.
What does it cost to become a participant?
There is no charge to apply or to join. The published fee schedule shows no fee for membership, onboarding, connectivity, the UAT environment or venue market data. The only fee the venue charges is an execution fee on completed trades. There are no rebates, no volume thresholds and no preferential pricing.
Does OptAxe act as our counterparty?
No. OptAxe operates the MTF as a neutral rules-based venue. It does not deal on own account and does not hold client money or client assets, and trades are between participants. An MTF is not a regulated market, so transactions executed on the venue remain OTC derivatives.
Can we choose which counterparties we face?
Yes. Participants confirm the counterparties they are documented to face as part of onboarding, and a market maker controls which participants can see each axe it posts. No trades can take place between participants that do not already have trading lines in place.
Do we need a FIX connection to start?
No. Buy-side participants can access the venue through the web UI, which needs no development work, or via the APIs directly. Alternatively, check with your OMS provider if they are integrating with OptAxe.
Market makers typically connect over FIX. OptAxe builds to the participant's existing FIX specification for pricing. For those without FIX, the web UI, REST or WebSocket APIs are available. Many users also choose to use Symphony for leaving natural language axe interests.