Basis trading, simplified, and how exchanges adapt to institutional needs — Q&A with OKX

cointelegraph.com:

In the highly volatile and ever-changing cryptocurrency market, exchanges are striving to not only survive but thrive in all market conditions. They understand the importance of catering to institutional investors who demand innovative tools and solutions to meet their evolving needs.

A common trading strategy for institutional users is trading the basis, or taking advantage of the difference between an asset’s price on different markets, such as spot and futures.

Responding to the trading community’s needs, OKX has launched a product for institutional users to execute basis trades with one click.

In this interview, Lennix Lai, global chief commercial officer at OKX, highlights the challenges institutional traders are currently facing when trading cryptocurrencies, and discusses how OKX is addressing them by continuously evolving its institutional offering with products like Nitro Spreads.

Cointelegraph: What specific challenges are institutional traders facing now?

Lennix Lai: Institutional traders need to maximize capital efficiency, minimize third-party risk, find trusted and efficient custodians and avoid price slippage, all while trading effectively. In complex market conditions, these users need strategies that deliver good returns with the least amount of risk.

Q: How do crypto exchanges address these challenges?

LL: As a crypto exchange, we listen to institutional users to develop new and improved ways to meet their needs. This can be through partnerships or products we develop, such as our new trading feature Nitro Spreads, designed for basis-trading strategies with dedicated order book liquidity.

Sophisticated crypto traders are not only astute market analysts, but they’re also proficient in evaluating crypto