Here it is, the final countdown of The TRADE’s most read stories in 2025. Cracking the top three was the attention-grabbing news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved the Green Impact Exchange’s (GIX) Form 1 application in April 2025.
GIX stated at the time that trading is set to begin in early 2026. Through becoming a registered securities exchange, GIX will become the firm stock market in the US focused on the $35 trillion sustainability economy.
Speaking about market interest in the sustainability-focused exchange, Charles Dolan, co-founder and president, told The TRADE that important conversations were well underway with key buy-side players.
“Our discussions with major buy-side firms have revealed a high level of interest in our initiative. They believe our direction will significantly influence asset allocation decisions and other industry practices, making it a game-changer for the entire sector.”
The GIX trading platform is set to be powered by MEMX technology and will offer non-tiered, competitive liquidity and quoting programs.
In addition, GIX confirmed that it will also be part of the National Market System (NMS), ensuring best execution.
“Climate risk is business risk. It’s that simple. US investors and companies are continuing to pursue sustainability because it makes financial and competitive sense,” said Dolan in an official announcement on 14 April.
2. LSEG names co-heads of global data and analytics
Coming in at number two in our stellar most read line up is another huge people move story – and this time round it’s a double whammy!
LSEG named its new co-heads of the data and analytics division – with Ron Lefferts and Gianluca Biagini beginning their new joint role in August 2025.
Their appointment followed the departure of Satvinder Singh in February.
New addition Biagini joined from S&P Global where he most recently served as head of data, valuations and risk analytics.
As part of the new role, he also became a member of the LSEG executive committee.
Lefferts has been with LSEG since 2021, having previously served as group head of sales and account management. He has also been a member of the executive committee since 2023.
Both now report to chief executive, David Schwimmer, who said: “Gianluca and Ron make a formidable team. Their highly complementary track records are outstanding; they bring deep expertise of driving transformation, building customer partnership and creating long-term value.”
Previously in his career, Biagini has worked across fixed income, private markets, cross-asset OTC derivatives, and equities, while prior to joining LSEG, Leffers worked at Protiviti as global leader of technology consulting, responsible for strategy, solution offerings, consulting delivery and external partnerships.
1. One Trading becomes EU’s firstMifid II-regulated venue for crypto perpetual futures
The one you’ve all been waiting for – The TRADE’s most read news story of the year, with more than 36,000 page views (almost double last year’s most read story!), was One Trading’s unveiling of a new regulated perpetual trading venue in April.
The move increases the European crypto-asset exchange’s accessibility to both institutional and retail clients.
The launch represents the first fully regulated, cash-settled perpetual futures platform in Europe, establishing One Trading as the only Mifid II-regulated trading venue for crypto perpetual futures in the EU.
Specifically, the platform offers BTC/EUR and ETH/EUR perpetual futures trading pairs.
“The launch of our perpetual futures platform is a major milestone in our three-year journey. From the start, our goal has been to simplify trading by making markets more accessible, transparent, and cost-effective,” said One Trading chief executive Joshua Barraclough.
“Customers will no longer need to pay vast fees in margin to get access to leverage, trade CFDs or need to trade on unregulated offshore venues.”
One Trading’s platform is set to offer real-time settlement of all derivative positions 24/7 with a sub-1-minute settlement time and aims to eliminate the need for external clearing by combining derivatives product creation and trading.
The announcement follows a strategic investment into the exchange by Standard Chartered subsidiary SC Ventures in September 2024, focused on supporting the launch of the first crypto perpetual futures in the EU as a Mifid II trading venue.
A brilliant round up
So there we have it, The TRADE’s most read stories for the year – an excellent line up!
The last 12 months have marked another record-breaking year at The TRADE, smashing through previous pageviews records. We can’t wait to see what 2026 will bring.
All this couldn’t have been possible without you, our readers, and we want to express our gratitude to you all for the continued support of The TRADE – we hope to keep serving you well!
On behalf of the editorial team, thank you once again. We’re excited to continue to offer the thorough and insightful coverage you’ve come to expect in the new year, but in the meantime, we wish you all a very joyful holiday season!