ASX opens first high-density pod at Australian Liquidity Centre

Maria Nikolova

The new pods provide customers the same equal access to all ASX markets as standard cabinets, and can directly connect to alternative trading venues and liquidity platforms via ASX Net.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today announces that it has opened the first of its newly constructed high-density pods at the Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC).

The high-density space is biometrically secured, with cold-aisle containment featuring in-row chillers, and is capable of delivering up to 24 kilowatts of power into an individual cabinet. The new pods provide customers the same equal access to all ASX markets as standard cabinets, and can directly connect to alternative trading venues and liquidity platforms via ASX Net.

ASX explains that the growing adoption by financial markets of data analytics, machine learning and computational grid computing is increasing the power requirements of Field Programmable Arrays (FPGAs) and similar technologies. Customers are also seeking more efficient cooling solutions for their increasingly power-hungry equipment, as super-fast overclocked servers and the thermodynamic boundaries generated by this business processing technology continue to escalate.

Dealing with the new cooling and power requirements is a challenge for data centre operators globally. Adoption of liquid-based cooling is increasing as it is considered more efficient than air-based cooling. The use of liquid-based cooling techniques by data centres is expected to grow significantly in 2020, posting a Compound Annual Growth Rate of almost 16% during the forecast period.

Energy turnover has become a major limiting factor to the performance of a trading firm’s high-density compute stack, rather than the clock rate or number of chips used. For a specific segment of the user base within the ALC ecosystem, the performance of these finely tuned trading plants primarily depends on how much heat can be dissipated.

Adam Bradley, ASX’s Global Head of Sales, said:

“Reducing risk and cost feature heavily in our conversations, and ASX is actively addressing this. The introduction of high-density pods helps firms deploy their next generation trading architecture in a less complex and more efficient manner. Subject to demand and the advancement of technology, we have the capacity to deploy additional high-density pods”.

The ASX’s ALC, launched back in 2012, is a data centre built exclusively for organisations in the financial markets ecosystem. It provides customers with a range of communication, execution and information services including the most secure and fastest possible access to all ASX liquidity – ASX Trade Match, ASX Centre Point and ASX 24. There are more than 120 customers at the ALC including international investment banks, Australian brokers, market makers, proprietary firms as well as data vendors, software and system vendors, and all major telecom carriers.

Read this next

Institutional FX

FXSpotStream volumes hit 14-month high in November

FXSpotStream’s trading venue, the aggregator service of LiquidityMatch LLC, reported its operational metrics for November 2023, which moved higher on a monthly basis.

Digital Assets

Circle denies ties with Palestinian groups, TRON founder

Stablecoin issuer Circle has denied allegations that it facilitates funding for terrorist organizations.

Retail FX

CySEC hits operator of Titanedge, TradeEU with €90,000 fine

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) announced that it has imposed a fine of €90,000 on Titanedge Securities Ltd due to shortcomings in their regulatory obligations.

Institutional FX

Cboe FX volumes retreats slightly in November 2023

Cboe’s institutional spot FX platform today announced its trading volume for the month ending November 2023, which took a step back after a strong rebound in October.

Institutional FX

Alpha Group seals Cobase majority acquisition

Foreign exchange service provider Alpha Group International plc (AIM: ALPH) has finalized its acquisition of Financial Transaction Services, operating as Cobase.

Digital Assets

TMNG Tokens Successfully Listed on MEXC Crypto Exchange

TMN Global proudly announces the successful listing of its native TMNG token on the MEXC crypto exchange, effective December 1st, 2023. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for TMN Global in the crypto space.

Institutional FX

Marex completes acquisition of TD Cowen’s PB business

London-headquartered commodities broker Marex has completed the acquisition of TD Cowen’s prime brokerage and outsourced trading business, which will be integrated into Marex’s capital market division. This division was established following the acquisition of ED&F Man Capital Markets in 2022.

Digital Assets

Talos introduces decentralized liquidity and onchain settlement with Uniswap and Fireblocks

“At the cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem, Uniswap has the breadth of assets and depth of liquidity that institutional traders need. And to have this partnership powered by Fireblocks, a digital assets infrastructure provider trusted by some of the most renowned institutions, is very fitting.”

Digital Assets

FINMA-regulated crypto bank SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA

“As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.”

<