Marex to join CFTC stablecoin collateral pilot following record Q4

Speaking on an earnings call on Tuesday, chief executive Ian Lowitt said the company expects to go live in the initiative “at the end of March,” marking its entry into the CFTC’s pilot framework for alternative collateral in derivatives markets as part of wider digital ambitions.

"We are seeing growing engagement from clients coming to us to solve real world use cases for them," Lowitt (pictured) said on an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday. "We already have 24/7 trading capability in place for our digital assets offering, and plan to extend this imminently to clearing - we clear crypto futures for clients, primarily on CME. This will also give us the ability to support prediction markets at limited additional cost. Towards the end of 2025 we went live as a day one clearer for SGX derivatives' launch of digital asset perpetual futures, meeting institutional demand for transparent access to regulated crypto derivatives.

"And we are actively involved in the CFTC pilot programme for the acceptance of stable coin and crypto as collateral for futures, and we expect to go live with us at the end of March, while still early days, we believe these initiatives position us strongly as market structure continues to evolve, and they represent a meaningful long term opportunity for the firm."

The development builds on digital asset ambitions outlined last quarter. In November, Lowitt highlighted opportunities in “settlements in stablecoins, event contracts, crypto prime brokerage” as part of a broader expansion strategy, adding that the firm was “in the process of building all of that out” amid rising demand for 24/7 trading and tokenised products.

The launch of perpetual futures by SGX marked the first crypto perpetual futures offering on a regulated exchange in Asia.

Record-breaking Q4

The London-headquartered brokerage and clearing intermediary reported fourth-quarter revenue of $572.1 million (£430m), up 38% year over year, while adjusted profit before tax climbed 41% to $114.9 million (£86m). Chief financial officer Rob Irvin described it as “an excellent result for the year,” on an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, adding that the fourth quarter was “the strongest quarter in our history.”

For the full year 2025, revenue rose 27% to $2.02 billion. Profit before tax increased 39% to $411.6 million, while basic earnings per share advanced 39% to $4.12, extending Marex’s run of 11 consecutive years of profit growth.

Acquisition-led growth and reinvestment

Management linked the record results to reinvestment and targeted acquisitions, particularly in prime services.

“We continued to execute our M&A strategy, integrating recent acquisitions and further enhancing the resilience of our earnings,” Lowitt said, adding that prime “continues to scale” and shows how acquisitions can be “successfully integrated and empowered to grow on our platform.”

Irvin said rising costs reflected that growth. “$54 million of the increase in total expenses was driven by higher variable compensation,” including payments linked to recently completed acquisitions. “A further $18 million related to the fixed costs associated with the recently completed acquisitions,” he said, emphasising these were ongoing operating costs rather than one-off transaction charges. The group also invested “an additional $50 million to support the future organic growth of the organisation.”

Broad-based segment strength

All four operating divisions delivered year over year revenue growth in the fourth quarter. Agency and Execution revenue increased 51% to $290.4 million, driven by Prime expansion and strength across asset classes. Clearing revenue rose 10% to $136.7 million on higher client balances and volumes.

Market Making revenue climbed 83% to $81.4 million, supported by strong metals activity, while Hedging and Investment Solutions revenue advanced 57% to $62.7 million.

Net trading income more than doubled to $291.8 million from $128.1 million a year earlier. Net physical commodities income swung to a $16.7 million gain, while net interest income fell 58% to $26.1 million amid lower benchmark rates and higher funding costs.

Common equity rose 29% year over year to $1.12 billion. The board approved a fourth quarter dividend of $0.15 per share, payable in the first quarter of 2026.

Last month, MIAX reported net revenue surged 52% in Q4 2025.

The CFTC launched the digital assets pilot program to allow the use of digital assets as collateral back in December 2025.