Tradeweb Markets and MarketAxess posted record-breaking volumes in January, reflecting heightened institutional activity across rates and credit markets.
Tradeweb reported total trading volume of $65.5 trillion for the month, with average daily volume reaching $3.1 trillion, up 26.2% year-over-year. Meanwhile, MarketAxess logged record average daily volume of $18.6 billion in total credit, a 28% jump from January 2025. The company's rates business grew 19% year-over-year, bringing total platform ADV to $47.7 billion, up 23%.
"In January, we delivered 28% growth year-over-year in total credit on record ADV of $18.6 billion, and 19% growth in total rates," said Chris Concannon, CEO of MarketAxess. "In credit, our emerging markets ADV increased 50% to a record $5.5 billion, almost 30% above the previous monthly record set last year."
Credit Markets Lead Growth
Both platforms saw particularly strong growth in credit markets. Tradeweb's fully electronic U.S. credit ADV rose 24.4% year-over-year to $9.4 billion, while European credit jumped 44% to $3.5 billion. The company captured 17.5% market share of fully electronic U.S. high-grade TRACE and 7.1% of high-yield TRACE.
- Tradeweb Debuts Saudi Electronic Bond Platform, First Trades Involve BlackRock and BNP Paribas
- Tradeweb Names Former Citigroup Executive as Asia Chief
- Tradeweb and WisdomTree Lead $136M Funding for Fnality; Stablecoin Settlement Planned
MarketAxess posted U.S. high-grade ADV of $8.4 billion, up 20% from the prior year. The company's emerging markets business stood out, with ADV climbing 50% to $5.5 billion, nearly 30% above the previous monthly record. Hard currency volumes rose 28% while local markets surged 94%. BlackRock and MarketAxess have deepened their collaboration to optimize global credit markets, which may be contributing to the strong institutional flows.
Rates Trading Surges on Policy Uncertainty
Government trading picked up momentum as political tensions and shifting inflation expectations drove positioning. Tradeweb's U.S. government ADV increased 15.3% to $267.7 billion, while European government volumes surged 36% to $79.4 billion.
Interest rate derivatives showed the sharpest gains on Tradeweb's platform. Swaps and swaptions with maturities of one year or longer climbed 34.6% to $591 billion in daily volume, while total rates derivatives ADV surged 51.1% to $1.2 trillion.
Tradeweb's mortgage trading hit an all-time high, with ADV up 16.7% to $310.1 billion. Tradeweb's year-end trading volume hit $63 trillion in December, showing the momentum has carried into the new year.
New Protocols Gain Ground
MarketAxess highlighted growth in newer execution methods. Block trading ADV jumped 56% year-over-year, with U.S. credit block volumes up 35% and emerging markets block trading doubling to $2.5 billion. Portfolio trading volumes more than doubled, rising 126% to $2 billion in daily volume.
Dealer-initiated activity increased 13% to $1.8 billion, with Mid-X trading volume hitting a record $6.9 billion, up 383%. Tradeweb reported record European credit volumes driven by increased adoption of its Automated Intelligent Execution tool.
Meanwhile, institutional FX volumes eased in December after a three-month rally, but the fixed-income platforms showed no signs of cooling as 2026 began. The January results suggest electronic trading continues to capture share from traditional voice-based execution, particularly in credit and emerging market products.
