Traditional trading firms fuel demand for low-latency crypto infrastructure

Traditional futures, foreign exchange and proprietary trading firms are increasingly treating digital assets like established electronic markets, driving demand for the same low-latency infrastructure used across traditional markets, according to Germany-based software provider CryptoStruct and London-based cloud infrastructure provider BSO.

The firms earlier this month expanded their partnership with a Tokyo-London connectivity solution aimed at meeting growing demand for faster crypto market data.

“A large number of traditional trading firms entered crypto during the earlier periods of rapid market growth, and we continue to see new firms coming in as the asset class matures,” Thomas Schmeling, chief executive officer of CryptoStruct, told FOW in an interview.

“For many of these firms, crypto is now another market they can add to an existing portfolio of strategies. The barrier to entry has also become much lower, while the infrastructure available to professional firms has improved considerably.”

Matthew Lempriere, head of UK and Asia Pacific at BSO, said demand for digital asset connectivity is coming from crypto-native firms, proprietary trading firms, banks and market makers, while crypto exchanges are increasingly being treated like traditional trading venues from a connectivity perspective.

Schmeling said expectations have changed significantly since BSO and CryptoStruct first partnered in 2020.

“The market has become significantly more professional since 2020. Institutional firms now expect the same level of performance, reliability and integration from crypto infrastructure that they are used to in traditional markets,” he said.

“At the same time, we are seeing increasing demand for integrated solutions that reduce the technical and operational friction involved in consuming high-speed market data. Rather than building and maintaining multiple components themselves, customers increasingly want a solution that gives them access to the data and connectivity they need through a single, optimised setup.”

Low-latency technology moves into crypto

BSO and CryptoStruct on August 13 expanded their existing partnership with a solution combining CryptoStruct's normalised Binance market data with BSO's directional microwave radio frequency (RF) connectivity between Tokyo and London.

The service is designed to deliver Binance top-of-book data into London's LD4 data centre around three milliseconds faster on a one-way basis than existing fibre connections, with the performance still being tested.

“This is a perfect partnership,” Lempriere said. “BSO has been working with CryptoStruct for a number of years already delivering low-latency fibre connectivity to deliver market data globally.

“We are now extending this relationship to deliver Tokyo crypto data into London over an ultra-low-latency network for trading on London-based venues such as Polymarket, Kraken and Deribit, where we see huge interest from our mutual trading clients.”

Microwave connectivity can provide a latency advantage over fibre, but Schmeling said deploying the infrastructure requires significant investment and specialised expertise.

“Many crypto-native trading firms want access to that performance advantage without having to take on the cost, complexity and operational risk of building and maintaining the infrastructure themselves,” he said. “This solution gives them that capability in a much more accessible way.”

Lempriere said falling costs are also making RF connectivity available to a wider range of firms.

“The additional reduction in latency that can be obtained across this hugely important trading route and the fact that we are able to sell for a commercially attractive price really opens this technology to companies who could not use it in the past,” he said.

Milliseconds matter for systematic traders

CryptoStruct selected Binance because of its role in price discovery across digital assets and the importance of Asian market activity to European traders.

“Binance is one of the key sources of price discovery across a large number of crypto assets, particularly when combined with the activity we see in Asian markets,” Schmeling said. “For firms trading from Europe, receiving that information as quickly as possible can be extremely valuable.”

Schmeling said even a three-millisecond advantage can be significant for automated trading strategies.

“If you receive and process a market move before your competition, you have an opportunity to react first, whether that means capturing a trading opportunity, adjusting a quote or reducing exposure before the market moves further,” he said.

“Our normalised market data also removes additional processing complexity for the customer. Combining standardised data with lower-latency delivery means trading systems can react to market events more quickly and consistently.”

Market makers, arbitrage firms and other latency-sensitive systematic and proprietary trading strategies stand to benefit most, according to Schmeling.

Lempriere added: “This is hugely important in a market where milliseconds matter. With the correct trading strategy in place, firms can benefit by making trading decisions ahead of their competition.”

Prediction markets add new trading opportunities

Prediction markets are also emerging as a source of demand for the infrastructure.

“This is also increasingly relevant for prediction markets such as Polymarket, where movements in the underlying crypto markets can directly influence trading decisions,” Schmeling said. “In systematic trading, faster access to information can translate directly into better opportunities and more effective risk management.”

Lempriere said BSO has seen a “huge increase” in interest during 2026 from clients trading prediction markets including Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com.

“It is all of the above, particularly as Kraken have now moved into London and prediction markets are allowing access to huge pools of liquidity that was previously unavailable,” he said when asked which types of firms are driving demand, adding that BSO can also carry the data to Dublin.

Schmeling said prediction markets are now a major focus for CryptoStruct as liquidity grows and more professional participants enter the market.

“The boundary between crypto and traditional markets is becoming increasingly blurred,” he said. “Traditional markets are opening up to crypto-related products and infrastructure, while crypto firms are adopting more of the technology and trading practices established in traditional electronic markets.

“CryptoStruct sits directly at that intersection, so we will continue expanding our technology and connectivity to support customers across both worlds.”

BSO also expects to expand the model to other digital asset exchanges and trading hubs.

“BSO are constantly upgrading our global infrastructure and we will continue to invest in this dynamic and exciting market as it evolves,” Lempriere said.