Modern Money SmartPod

We wrap up our road trip to the International Futures Industry Conference via a conversation with Anthony Attia, the Global Head of Derivatives & Post Trade at Euronext. Anthony shares some of his key takeaways from a busy week in Boca, including: 

• Discussions about the feasibility and business case for 24/7 trading at the industry level.
• Relatively little talk about AI -- which might indicate industry maturity on the topic.
• Euronext's recent announcement that it will clear crypto ETFs and ETPs.
• Outlining Euronext's strategic initiatives around listed derivatives, OTC derivatives, clearing, and post-trade services to drive more trading and clearing business.

The puns were flying around fast and furious on the final day of the 50th annual International Futures Industry Conference as JB Mackenzie from Robinhood joined the show to discuss the evolution of prediction markets. Prediction markets have made headlines in recent months around events like the presidential election, but as their popularity grows, JB shares his view on just how far prediction markets might push into areas like politics and sports. 

JB also outlines expansion efforts under way at Robinhood and explains why the new generation of investors that has embraced prediction markets and 24/7 trading is likely to drive innovation in other areas of the financial ecosystem.   

The continued growth of retail trading has been a hot topic this week at the 50th annual International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Florida. CME Group Chief Commercial Officer Julie Winkler stopped by the show to discuss what the exchange is doing to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated retail traders. At the other end of the retail spectrum, Winkler shared details about CME Group's Trading Challenge, which introduces new investors to futures markets. 

Winkler also outlined ways CME Group is leveraging its partnership with Google Cloud to not only make data more accessible to traders, but also build out its matching engine's disaster recovery site.

Data has been woven into the DNA of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) since its inception. And as markets continue to expand at a rapid pace, managing the underlying data in a resilient, scalable and accessible way remains a key priority for ICE.  

In this quick update from the sidelines of the 50th annual International Futures Industry Conference, ICE Chief Operating Officer Stuart Williams details how quickly messaging traffic is growing across ICE's markets. Williams also outlines the planning and investment ICE is putting into data centers and other critical elements of market infrastructure. 

To kick off the second day of the International Futures Industry Conference, Shawn Creighton, the Director of Index Derivatives Solutions at FTSE Russell, joins the show for the second year in a row to discuss the issues that are creating the most buzz at Boca50. 

During this quick, 10-minute podcast, Creighton delves into an array of topics, including:

• Interest in digital assets indices continues to expand, while the rise of cryptocurrencies powers the launch of perpetual contracts for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures.
• Geopolitical risks are driving continued growth of 0DTE options.
• Investor interest in products linked to sustainability has waned in the US, but remains steady in other markets.
• 'Finfluencers' and other channels are being leveraged to boost awareness of the Russell 2000 in markets outside the US.
• Say goodbye to your weekend because the push to offer 24/7 trading is only going to get stronger.

It's Day One at the International Futures Industry Conference and Bill Gulya, Managing Director and Head of the Americas at Singapore Exchange (SGX), kicked things off by joining this podcast to discuss a couple of announcements from SGX that are making their way into the headlines.

SGX has a reputation for making big news each year at #FIABoca and this year the exchange operator did not disappoint. After starting the day with an announcement about launching open-ended Bitcoin futures contracts, SGX followed up with news that it would be partnering with exchange operator B3 to launch futures contracts for the Brazilian real later this year.

Bill outlined what those initiatives mean in the wider landscape for crypto and currency futures and also shared his insights about the increase in trading activity SGX is seeing that is linked to US tariff announcements and other geopolitical ructions.

And of course, it wouldn't be Boca50 if we didn't discuss this year's musical entertainment: Cheap Trick. Bill shared his own anecdote about grooving to Cheap Trick as a middle schooler. It's a funny and all-too-relatable story.

In what has become an annual tradition for this podcast, Futures Industry Association President and CEO Walt Lukken stops by the show to preview what's in store at the annual International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Florida. It is the 50th anniversary of Boca, so this year's gathering is a big one. While the agenda is packed with fireside chats, speeches and panel discussions featuring some of the most influential leaders in the derivatives industry, Lukken shared his insights on a few other topics, including:

• How Boca has evolved throughout the years
• What will be this year's hottest topic? (Spoiler alert!: Trump, Trump and Trump)
• What a shift in regulators' views on capital might mean for the industry

A stage-diving Walt???: We also had a bit of fun during our conversation. With Cheap Trick set to perform in concert at this year's conference, Walt reveals an interesting piece of personal music trivia when he explains how long he has been a fan of the band. When I asked Walt if one of the exchanges at the conference should launch an Event Contract based on whether he will do a stage dive during the concert, Walt said ... well ... you'll have to listen to hear his answer!

The SEC might have delayed the implementation of its US Treasury clearing mandate, but that doesn't mean market infrastructure experts will be taking much of a break in their preparations for the rule. Paul Hamill, the chief commercial officer at ICE Clear Credit, says the SEC's delay of at least one year will be leveraged to prepare the best possible clearing solutions for market participants. In this interview, Hamill explains:

• What the delay means for the industry
• How clearing will impact liquidity and other aspects of trading for firms of all sizes within the Treasury market
• How best practices learned from the clearing of swaps and other products are being applied to clearing for the massive US Treasury market
• What kinds of risks might remain even after clearing is implemented

Sponsored by ION Markets

Our road trip to the 49th annual International Futures Industry Conference has come to an end. But before we said goodbye to Boca, we touched base with Rohit Bhat, Managing Director, Capital Markets, Digital Assets, & Exchanges at Google Cloud. With cloud technology and artificial intelligence at the center of countless conversations this week, Bhat was the perfect closing guest to help us understand what the cloud can do in capital markets and separate the signal from the noise when it comes to the hype surrounding AI. We also had a little bit of fun hearing what 'Rohit's Cloud' ... aka Cloud 3.0 ... will feature and how soon it might become a reality.

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Sponsored by ION Markets

With Bitcoin soaring to new heights, the 49th annual International Futures Industyr Conference is the perfect time to check in with CoinFund President Chris Perkins. In this wide-ranging conversation, Perkins shares his insights about cryptocurrency trends and other exciting developments in decentralized finance. Perkins also explains the essentials of CoinFund's CESR periodic rate, which measures the average annualized yield awarded to all eligible validators staking ether on the Ethereum blockchain. And finally ... Perkins shares breaking news about the completion of the first fixed-floating swap using CESR.

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