Exclusive: Ex-JP Morgan Lawyer David Andrews Launches Atom8, A New ECN in London
London continues to shine as a center for both retail and institutional FX, today becoming home to Atom8, a newly

Even in today’s very high technology international environment, London remains synonymous with established, large scale and traditional financial institutions whose history often dates back to the industrial revolution.
As electronic trading made its entry into the financial markets, the major industry participants in London were large and well-capitalized, and quickly encompassed institutional FX client bases, liquidity provision to FX firms and the foundation of dedicated service providers to the FX industry.
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It is therefore a point of interest when a new ECN with a different ethos to that of the establishment enters such a market which is populated by giants, today’s launch of Atom8 being a case in point.
Atom8’s official launch today also follows the line of thinking which is emerging among a number of newly established firms, that London is a highly attractive location, despite the high operating costs and immense competition. Last month, a number of retail FX firms also headed to London in order to establish European operations, even after having been granted a CySec license, eschewing the Cypriot bridge to Europe facilitated under MiFID’s passport option immediately in favor of the security of London’s financial district.
Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Atom8 defines itself as a technology-focused ECN FX and spread betting broker which places an emphasis on automation.
Algorithmic Toolkit
As part of the firm’s interest in technological development, Atom8 arrives on the market with its new Atom8 Trader Pro trading platform which is licensed from a software firm, which facilitates FX, CFD and spread betting as is often the case in the UK, however it also provides an algorithmic toolkit allowing institutional and private traders to interact in the same market.
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The company has been co-founded by David Andrews who has assumed the position as CEO, and previously served as a commercial lawyer at JP Morgan where he worked within the cross-asset exotic OTC and securitized derivatives legal team.

Speaking on the launch of the new ECN, Mr. Andrews confirmed to Forex Magnates that Atom8 will provide spread betting with raw spread, as well as FX/CFD accounts, free automated algorithmic coding services for private clients, as well as customizable multi-currency PAMM facilities, FIX API and an anonymous multi-API-configured ECN access for institutions, with low latency connectivity.
Mr. Andrews considers that the new platform is intended to provide substantial enhancements to traditional liquidity arrangements for both institutional investors and private traders, and allows clients to place orders directly into the ECN pool, essentially acting as a market maker themselves, thus avoiding paying the spread.
Atom8 currently offers up to 50 currency pairs, as well as gold and silver, with spread only or commission only accounts, which can be traded via the desktop, as well as mobile and tablet-based platforms.
Spread Betting – Without The Spread
“Atom8 aims to be the broker that popularises and democratises automated trading in the UK and abroad. Its technological superiority and desire to see its clients succeed in the challenging FX market should make Atom8 a natural choice for serious traders,” Mr. Andrews explained to Forex Magnates today.
“Our ability to create a bespoke client offering based on market-leading execution, liquidity, pricing and FX-focused trading platforms will make our platform the only one clients will want or need.”
“The practical difference for traders is palpable. ECN raw spread spread betting for UK clients and free automated algorithmic coding services are some of the revolutionary services Atom8 already delivers to its UK and international client base,” concluded Mr. Andrews.
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This appears to be a Dukascopy whitelabel. The JForex platform is the same, pricing appears to be the same too – at least for FX.
So I can get Dukascopy pricing as a spread bet?
James it appears that way, I only like to trade with UK regulated brokers, so this seems good.
By the time you add the hefty commission to the spread youd better off with IG, CMC or City.
Its just a duka Jforex WL. Not keen on Jforex personally its a very heavy application.
so atom8 is the same as jforex?
I hear a lot of similar comments about JForex, need to check that out myself.
Thanks all for the comments so far. We appreciate the feedback. Here are some key points in our offering (relative to the standard retail accounts of the competition) for an informed choice:- 1) overnight funding charges – we charge no mark-up on the swap rate, and as a consequence we are up to 1200% cheaper every night relative to the competition mentioned above (some of whom commonly charge BOE Base Rate +2.5%). This adds up; 2) commissions – average commission about £2.40 depending per lot, depending on volume traded plus ECN pricing (EUR average spread 0.23 pips last month). Also,… Read more »
Nira – Israel did not suffer during the worldwide economic crisis, has a stable banking sector, had no housing foreclosures and a high percentage of home ownership compared with any other nation despite the far higher property prices, more NASDAQ listed companies in the technology sector (a lot in financial technology) than any other region worldwide including those in California, and has very little state dependency, as Mr. Jin mentioned at the conference yesterday, Europe’s welfare system is hampering international development. It has the second highest venture capital investment and VC funds do not invest on such a high scale… Read more »
Nira – Israel did not suffer during the worldwide economic crisis, has a stable banking sector, had no housing foreclosures and a high percentage of home ownership compared with any other nation despite the far higher property prices, more NASDAQ listed companies in the technology sector (a lot in financial technology) than any other region worldwide including those in California, and has very little state dependency, as Mr. Jin mentioned at the conference yesterday, Europe’s welfare system is hampering international development. It has the second highest venture capital investment and VC funds do not invest on such a high scale… Read more »