On-venue trading represented 64% of total addressable liquidity in European markets in Q2 2025, according to the latest report by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME).
In the Q2 ‘equity primary markets and trading report’ this year, big xyt data reveals that off-venue volumes now make up 36% of total liquidity.
Specifically, OTC trading made up the majority of off-venue volumes, constituting approximately 20%, with systematic internalisers (SIs) accounting for 16% of off-venue trading.
Moreover, off-book (on-exchange) trading accounted for 7% of Europe’s total addressable liquidity in the quarter.
Elsewhere, the report found that the double volume cap (DVC) mechanism – which seeks to limit equity trading under the reference price waiver and the negotiated transaction waiver on EU venues – has slightly declined since February 2023, with 227 instruments recorded as suspended at the beginning of July 2025.
Read more – Half of traders convinced FCA post-Brexit DVC decision will have little bearing on dark trading
DVCs limit the amount of dark trading that can take place under EU law in a bid to boost the amount of trading that is executed on more transparent, lit venues.