EBS speeds up Live Ultra data feed to 5ms

Nex Group-owned EBS BrokerTec has increased the frequency of its premium data feed, EBS Live Ultra, to five milliseconds in response to customer demand, the platform has announced.

The venue launched EBS Live Ultra in September 2016, with an update time of 20ms. The aim was to offer a faster alternative to the existing EBS Live data feed, which updated every 100ms.

While the 20ms EBS Live Ultra is available to all participants willing to purchase the feed, access to the 5ms version comes with participation criteria requiring participants to act as market-makers on the platform for at least 40% of their weekly volumes and to contribute a minimum of $200 million of daily flows.

"Launching the fastest FX live-streaming data feed available from a primary FX market venue, EBS BrokerTec continues to increase market transparency and help clients to trade as efficiently as possible," the platform said in a press release.

EBS BrokerTec said the enhanced speed comes in response to customer requests, and in a bid to continue increasing transparency in the market, as well as supporting the maintenance of a continuous order book.

Seth Johnson

"We are committed to ensuring the FX market has a reliable and liquid primary market. EBS Live Ultra reflects our constant efforts to improve and enhance the services we offer via the platform, and support a strong and healthy market ecology," said Seth Johnson, chief executive officer at EBS BrokerTec.

Tim Cartledge, the platform's chief strategy officer, said that since launching EBS Live Ultra in September 2016, the improved data feed has had a positive impact on spreads, market depth and transparency.

"Client feedback has been very positive, and we are confident the additional enhancements will further support customer requirements and a positive market environment," Cartledge said.

Challenger initiatives

In the run-up to the launch of EBS Ultra Live, competing platforms have made a push into the foreign exchange market data space, which has been relatively static in terms of competition amid rising costs over the years as fragmentation increased.

One of the challenger initiatives to emerge in 2016 was the Dmitri Galinov-led foreign exchange central tape (FXCT), which is now scheduled to go live in the second quarter of 2017, after a series of delays. It will launch with 12 members.

Originally, the FXCT plan involved four member organisations from four categories: platforms, banks, non-banks and brokers. But as banks continue to mull over their participation, the project – which aims to create a reference rate derived from members' last sale data, either near to real time or at the end of the day, in exchange for a monetary rebate – is set to go ahead without banks.

Other venues, such as Currenex, have made a grab for a larger slice of the lucrative market data pie. The venue launched Currenex Now in August 2016, offering clients a real-time feed for a maximum fee of $15,000 per month – the same as the FXCT plans to charge – with the aim of unsettling the dominance of EBS Live Ultra, which costs about $50,000 a month.