IMC Trading

What IMC Trading does

IMC Trading is a privately held global proprietary trading firm and market maker founded in 1989 and headquartered in Amsterdam. It operates as a top-3 liquidity provider by volume in listed options globally, providing liquidity across equity derivatives, ETFs, and crypto markets to institutional investors, retail brokers, ETF issuers, and institutional digital asset participants via institutional sales desks, options wholesaling, ETF market making, and dedicated crypto solutions. The firm employs approximately 1,900 people across 10 offices in the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and India, drawing on 70 nationalities.

IMC's core product is liquidity provision delivered through proprietary algorithmic and automated trading systems running on infrastructure spanning 9,000+ servers in 9 countries, processing petabytes of data daily and connecting to 120+ trading venues globally. Key technology capabilities include proprietary trading algorithms, machine learning models for portfolio management and crypto trading (acquired via Altas Technologies in 2023), an AI-driven decentralized exchange aggregator called Swapr, and high-frequency trading infrastructure acquired or extended through three acquisitions between 2022 and 2023: Tensor Technologies AG (Switzerland, December 2022), Altas Technologies (Netherlands, July 2023), and Cardinal Capital Management, rebranded as IMC Securities (United States, September 2023).

IMC generates revenue primarily through market making, capturing bid-ask spreads on high-volume transactions across multiple asset classes and venues rather than charging explicit fees. Reported net trading revenue was $3.12 billion for the most recent fiscal year (up 40% year-over-year) with $968 million in net profit, reflecting heightened market volatility. The firm also augments its balance sheet with debt issuance ($640 million) and selectively invests in the digital asset ecosystem, including a $530 million participation in StablecoinX's PIPE financing tied to Ethena's ENA treasury strategy. IMC distributes its services entirely through direct sales and technology-enabled connectivity, with no intermediary or reseller channel, and is expanding its commercial capabilities in crypto (new CCO, 2026) and in India (Mumbai hub buildout).

Name

IMC Trading

Legal name

IMC Global Holdings LLC

Website

https://imc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

IMC Trading is a privately held global proprietary trading firm and market maker providing algorithmic liquidity across equity derivatives, ETFs, and crypto markets to institutional investors, retail brokers, and ETF issuers via 120+ trading venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Making & Proprietary Trading

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Making & Liquidity Provision (FSADAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Multi-Asset Trading Platforms (OTC/RFQ) (FSAFAEAB), Institutional Spot Exchanges & Broker-Dealers (FSADAAAC), Liquidity Aggregation & Smart Order Routing (FSADAJAD)

Keywords

• Algorithmic trading
• Market making
• Proprietary trading
• Liquidity provision
• High-frequency trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Market Making: IMC Trading generates revenue primarily through market making activities, providing liquidity across equity derivatives, ETFs, and crypto markets. The firm earns spreads on trades executed across 120+ trading venues globally.
2. Institutional Sales: Direct off-screen trading relationships with buy-side firms through sales desks, enabling institutional participants to access IMC's liquidity
3. Options Wholesaling: Technology-enabled connectivity to all OCC venues providing options trading liquidity to retail brokers
4. ETF Market Making: Acting as Lead Market Maker in over 150 US ETFs, providing continuous liquidity in the expanding ETF ecosystem
5. Crypto Trading: Dedicated crypto team providing global coverage of spot, perps, futures, and options across on-chain and off-chain markets with approximately $3 billion daily trading volume

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IMC Trading is a global proprietary trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity across equity derivatives, ETFs, and crypto markets on more than 120 trading venues worldwide. The firm deploys proprietary algorithmic trading systems, machine learning models, and high-frequency trading infrastructure to earn bid-ask spreads across multiple asset classes. Service lines include Institutional Sales to buy-side firms, Options Wholesaling to retail brokers, ETF Lead Market Making in 150+ US ETFs, and dedicated Crypto Solutions for spot, perps, futures, and options trading.

Product overview

IMC Trading is a global market maker and proprietary trading firm offering a unified platform of liquidity services across multiple asset classes. The core offerings include: Institutional Sales (top-3 global listed options liquidity provider), Options Wholesaling (connectivity to all OCC venues), Crypto Solutions (global coverage of spot, perps, futures, and options), and ETF Market Making (Lead Market Maker in 150+ US ETFs). These products are delivered through proprietary trading technology and algorithms developed in-house, supported by 9000+ servers processing petabytes of data daily across 120+ trading venues globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMC Securities: US equity derivatives trading brand, formerly Cardinal Capital Management, operating under IMC's umbrella following the September 2023 acquisition.

Products and services

• Institutional Sales Sales desk services providing buy-side firms (institutional investors including asset managers and hedge funds) the ability to trade off-screen directly with IMC. IMC is a top-3 liquidity provider by volume traded in listed options globally across Europe, the US, and Asia Pacific.
• Options Wholesaling Technology-enabled connectivity to all Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) venues for options trading in the US market, providing options trading liquidity to retail brokers.
• Crypto Solutions Dedicated crypto team providing global coverage of crypto products including spot, perps, futures, and options, both on-chain and off-chain, for institutional digital asset participants.
• ETF Market Making Lead Market Maker (LMM) services in more than 150 US exchange-traded funds (ETFs), operating at the heart of the expanding ETF ecosystem, providing continuous liquidity to ETF issuers and exchanges.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% increase in net trading revenue year-over-year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Altas Technologies (acquired)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRotterdam-based data-driven trading firm specializing in automated systems and machine learning for crypto trading. Acquired in July 2023 to enhance IMC's capabilities in data, AI, and expand into new markets and asset classes including crypto markets.
• Tensor Technologies AG (acquired)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss developer of trading software and algorithms acquired in December 2022. The acquisition expanded IMC's proprietary trading technology capabilities.
• Cardinal Capital Management (acquired)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago-based proprietary trading firm specializing in equity derivatives. Renamed IMC Securities to expand liquidity offerings in US equity derivatives markets, benefiting both retail and institutional participants.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jane Street: Global market maker and liquidity provider with significant options, ETF, and crypto trading activity. Directly comparable institutional client base and proprietary technology stack.
• Citadel Securities: One of the largest global market makers across equities, options, ETFs, and increasingly crypto. Directly comparable as a multi-asset liquidity provider competing for the same institutional and retail flow.
• Virtu Financial: Publicly traded global market maker and execution services provider active across equities, ETFs, options, and fixed income. Highly comparable in product breadth, venue connectivity, and reliance on algorithmic market making.
• Jump Trading: Chicago-based proprietary trading firm with global HFT and market making operations across equities, futures, options, and crypto. Comparable scale and technology-driven trading model.
• Optiver: Amsterdam-headquartered proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making globally. Highly comparable as a top-tier options liquidity provider with a similar European origin and institutional sales model.
• Flow Traders: Dutch-listed liquidity provider specializing in ETF market making across global exchanges. Directly comparable in ETF Lead Market Making activities and cross-asset liquidity provision.
• Susquehanna International Group (SIG): Global quantitative proprietary trading firm with market making across options, ETFs, and equities. Comparable in algorithmic trading scale, options franchise, and institutional liquidity provision.
• Hudson River Trading (HRT): Quantitative trading firm operating algorithmic strategies across global equities, futures, options, and increasingly crypto. Comparable in proprietary technology focus and multi-venue execution.
• DRW Trading: Chicago-based diversified proprietary trading firm with market making, liquidity provision, and significant crypto trading (through Cumberland). Comparable in cross-asset market making and institutional crypto services.

Emerging players

• Wintermute: Leading crypto-native algorithmic trading firm and liquidity provider across centralized and decentralized venues. Comparable in IMC's crypto market making and on-chain/off-chain liquidity franchise, though narrower in traditional asset classes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imctrading

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMC Trading