LoopFX Launches Live FX Dark Pool With Backing From Major Buy-Side Institutions

LoopFX has officially launched as a live foreign exchange liquidity network, successfully executing its first client trades through State Street's FX Connect platform in what the company describes as a market first for anonymous mid-rate matching.

The London-based fintech has proven its technology works in live trading conditions, with clients executing real market risk through its integrated dark pool designed to address information leakage in large FX orders.

Foreign exchange represents the world's largest financial market, yet finding appropriate counterparties without revealing trading intent remains a significant challenge, particularly for substantial orders. LoopFX addresses this by enabling real-time, anonymous matching at mid-market rates.

The platform has secured early adoption from major institutions, with signed clients including Schroders, Royal London Asset Management, State Street Investment Management and RBC Capital Markets.

Blair Hawthorne, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of LoopFX, said: "We have fully executed agreements across 15 asset managers and banks, with many set to match on Loop shortly. We're especially grateful to State Street's FX Connect; their support and collaboration have been instrumental in enabling a smooth and timely rollout, we couldn't have done this without them. With strong early adoption and growing momentum, we are well-positioned to accelerate our growth in the institutional FX market."

Greg Fortuna, Head of GlobalLINK at State Street, said: "Integrating LoopFX into our FX Connect platform enhances our clients' ability to access mid-market liquidity efficiently and securely. This collaboration supports our broader goal of delivering seamless execution workflows that help clients manage large FX trades with greater precision and reduced market impact."

Neil McClements, Head of EMEA Multi-Asset eSales at RBC Capital Markets, added: "We are delighted to partner with LoopFX to bring our clients enhanced liquidity in the FX dark pool space. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to innovation in FX trading, enabling clients to execute larger trades with reduced market impact."

Gordon Noonan, Head of FX Trading at Schroders, commented: "It's great to see both banks and asset managers engaging early with a solution like LoopFX. Collaboration across the industry is key to building a healthier, more efficient market structure. The ability to match offsetting interest at mid, with minimal market impact, is valuable – and having that workflow embedded within FX Connect makes it easy to access."

Mark Jenkins, Senior Fixed Income and Derivatives Trader at Royal London Asset Management, said: "LoopFX is a sensible step forward. It gives us another way to access liquidity without broadcasting our intent, and having it sit inside FX Connect keeps things simple. It's good to see the market coming together - banks, platforms, asset managers - to build tools that work for practitioners."

Jamie Smith, Senior FX Dealer at State Street Investment Management, added: "LoopFX provides an additional execution path for large FX trades, helping to minimise signalling risk while maintaining workflow continuity within FX Connect. The ability to match offsetting interest at mid-rate is a valuable enhancement to our trading toolkit."

The launch represents a significant milestone for the independent enterprise, which is supported by a £2.6 million investment from Augmentum Fintech Plc. The company benefits from experienced leadership including founding team members Blair Hawthorne, Tim Johnson and John Vause, who bring expertise from major institutions including Aberdeen, CME, 360T, American Express and State Street.

LoopFX's board includes notable financial services figures: John Sievwright as Chairman, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer International at Merrill Lynch and sits on Revolut's board; Martin Gilbert, Chairman of Revolut and founder of Aberdeen Asset Management; Tim Levene, Chief Executive Officer of Augmentum Fintech; Ivan Ritossa, former Barclays Capital executive committee member; Mike Soutar, member of the Government's Board of Trade; and Tim Ewington, investor and strategist.

The platform's integration with State Street's FX Connect provides institutional clients with embedded access to the dark pool functionality, maintaining workflow continuity whilst offering enhanced execution options for large foreign exchange transactions.

Founded to address inefficiencies in institutional FX trading, LoopFX focuses specifically on matching large outright FX trades whilst providing both asset managers and banks with mid-point execution without revealing trading intentions to the broader market.