World Crypto Global
Exclusive: Ex-UBS Expert Joins Crypto Market Maker Acheron Trading amid 369% Volume Surge
Aftercollaborating with legal departments of the world's largest investment banks,Daniel Lo has just joined the Acheron Trading team. As Finance Magnatesexclusively learned, the expert with over 12 years of experience in financiallaw has become the new Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of the crypto market maker,which significantly increased its trading volume in 2024.
Lo Moves From TraditionalFinance to Cryptocurrencies
Lo moved toAcheron from Cake Group, a Web3-related company, where he served as CLO forover two years. Previously, however, he built his experience in the world of"old finance." He worked as Legal Counsel for UBS in Singapore fortwo years and as a Derivatives Negotiator in the Canadian branch of RBC CapitalMarkets.
"AcheronTrading has long stood out to me for its commitment to transparency andaccountability in the fast-evolving crypto market," Lo commentedexclusively for Finance Magnates. "I look forward to building with thistalented team during this significant period of growth and innovation."
Acheron hasbeen operating in the crypto market-making space for six years, collaboratingwith 400 different issuers. The year's first half brought a several-foldincrease in realized volumes, hence the need to hire a new expert inregulatory, legal, and compliance matters.
Acheron Trading Volumes on the Rise
The newappointment comes as the firm expands its team to handle a 369.6% increase inyear-over-year trading volumes for the first half of 2024. The company has alsoadded new staff in its quantitative trading, quantitative development, andsales departments, recruiting from companies such as SpaceX and InteractiveBrokers.
Acheron'sexpansion comes amid a broader surge in the cryptocurrency market. The firmreported that assets brought to market in the first half of 2024 haveoutperformed all of 2023 by 233%. This growth has been fueled by factorsincluding Bitcoin's market cap crossing $1 trillion in February and speculationabout a potential Ethereum ETF.
WesleyPryor, founder of Acheron Trading, noted the company's need to adapt itstraditionally lean operational strategy to scale with the industry and keeppace with increasing trading levels and greater regulatory measures.
Danielsappointment and the many others we have just made underscore Acheron Tradingsunwavering commitment to meet the evolving needs of our clientele. Both theindividual and collective professional experiences of our new hires areinvaluable to our strategy as we rise to this new tide of activity, Pryoradded.
Crypto Sector HighlyConcentrated
The companyalso highlighted changes in market dynamics, including an extension of theinitial price discovery phase for new assets from an average of 1.2 days to 6days. However, the firm noted that the sector remains highly concentrated, withthe top eight largest exchanges accounting for more than 90% of global marketdepth.
"As atrusted principal and designated market maker, we must scale in order to meetthe demands of our clients who are driving the industry forward," added LaurentBenayoun, CEO of Acheron Trading, emphasizing the need to scale operations tomeet client demands. By strengthening our QT, QD, and sales teams, we arecontinuing the provision of a transparent and symbiotic MM offering.
Acheron'srecent growth is also part of a broader initiative that has seen the companymake several key moves in recent years. The firm has diversified its offeringsby introducing a principal market-making service and developing CommandStation, an in-house trading infrastructure platform. Additionally, Acheron hasformed new partnerships, including a collaboration with the tech incubatorforgd.com. The company also bolstered its technological capabilities throughthe acquisition of HedgeTech, a Boston-based firm specializing in algorithmicmarket-making solutions, in 2022.
Also, check out other executive moves recently described by Finance Magnates.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
