VENUE FILE · filed 2026-09 · last re-checked 2026-09
CMC Markets Institutional (CMC Connect / API Direct) — the liquidity layer, one venue at a time
CMC Markets Institutional provides multi-asset liquidity and tailored trading technology to institutional clients, enhancing market structure through its API Direct feed.
CMC Markets UK plc (institutional services; group parent CMC Markets Group plc, LSE: CMCX) · City of London, United Kingdom · evidence score 90/100
Licence, read on the register
| Regulator | Licence number | Jurisdiction | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA | 173730 | UK | tier-1 | open source ↗ |
Tier classification follows the same scale as the retail register: tier-2 means real supervision and client-money segregation, without an investor compensation scheme — never misread it as tier-1 protection.
The claims ledger
Claims specific enough to be falsified — and the ones that remain the venue's own measurement.
- 3testable claims
- 1venue-measured claims
- 4named data centres
- CMC's own institutional page states 'Formed in 1989 and listed on London Stock Exchange, we have accumulated over 20 years' institutional experience, with existing partnerships in more than 25 countries' (cmcmarkets.com/partners/institutional)
- Own API Direct description: 'comprehensive multi-asset coverage from a single provider with our API Direct feed, including access to our market-leading CFD liquidity and FX product suite' with 'consistent pricing and market depth across more than 400 instruments' (cmcmarkets.com/partners/institutional)
- CMC Connect page: 'CMC Connect offers multi-asset liquidity provision and tailored trading technology to a global institutional client base' (cmcmarkets.com/en/connect)
Claims we cannot verify from outside
- 64.5m spread bet and CFD trades annually (2018-19) and 80,000+ active clients appear on liquidityfinder.com directory copy of CMC profile — directory source, not verified on CMC's own pages
Perimeter and coverage
| Asset classes | Venues | Connectivity | Clients accepted | Explicitly refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFDs, FX spot, Spread betting (UK), Multi-asset derivatives (400+ instruments) | API Direct feed, Prime FX, Prime Derivatives, Grey label / white label platforms | FIX API, REST API, Native API (API Direct), MT4/MT5 white label | Banks, Brokers, Funds, Trading desks, Partnerships in more than 25 countries | Retail clients (institutional arm) |
A firm that publishes its own negative space — who it refuses, where it is not licensed — is materially easier to assess than one that doesn't. The refusal list is treated here as disclosure, not as a defect.
What the desk watches next
The follow-up plan attached to this file — each item re-checked on a future pass, dated and kept falsifiable.
- Verification of self-measured trade volumes
- Limits of FCA tier 1 licence