2024 Unwrapped: Auros Highlights & Horizons

Auros Caps a Year of Growth and Ecosystem Leadership with the Launch of a New Venture Arm and Annual Trading Volume of US$1 Trillion

• In a year where the crypto market faced renewed scrutiny, shifting regulatory landscapes, and a cautious resurgence of institutional participation, Auros, a leading global market-making and algorithmic trading firm, demonstrated resilience and leadership.
  
• Amid these challenges, Auros capped 2024 with exceptional growth and achieved significant milestones in both trading and market making, such as delivering $1 trillion in cumulative trading volume across spot, futures, swaps, and options. These milestones underscore the firm’s advanced trading strategies, bespoke partnership model, and the depth of expertise its team brings to the table, solidifying its reputation as a global leader in liquidity provision.

• 2024 was also marked by the soft launch of Auros Liquidity Solutions and the official launch of Auros Ventures, its dedicated venture arm — two milestone initiatives that underscore its commitment to innovation and market leadership. These initiatives highlight the culmination of a transformative year for Auros, where growth was not confined to trading volumes alone but extended to strategic business diversification and ecosystem impact.
  

A Trusted Liquidity Provider: Surpassing Previous Trading Volume Records Amid Macroeconomic Instability

• Amid a rapidly evolving market, Auros consistently delivered a reliable supply of high-quality liquidity, achieving 1 trillion trading volume in spot, futures, swaps and options trading volume. Auros also achieved a record high of 12 billion peak daily trading volume and a new peak of US$2.5 billion daily trading volume on-chain. This performance underscores the firm’s trading strategies, bespoke partnership approach, and the team’s 20 years of collective expertise in their fields.

• Building on its exceptional trading volume milestones, Auros has emerged as a pioneer in on-chain operations, a cornerstone of its Auros Liquidity Solutions. The firm has enhanced the security, efficiency, and reliability of blockchain-based trading through cutting-edge technological advancements. These innovations enable Auros to seamlessly manage on-chain liquidity and support sustainable growth for digital assets across decentralised exchanges. By fostering solid trading environments and maintaining high operational standards, Auros continues to solidify its position as a leader in the rapidly evolving DeFi ecosystem.

Committed to invest over US$50 million of proprietary capital into early-stage digital asset ventures over the next two years

• Auros Ventures reflects the firm’s strategic response to a shifting landscape where innovation and collaboration are paramount. Leveraging its operational expertise and ‘unfair advantage’ as an investor, power user, and service provider, Auros Ventures has partnered with approximately 20 early-stage projects across critical Web3 verticals.
  
• These include Layer-1 and Layer-2 solutions, defi protocols, audit technologies, and decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) ranging from edge computing to new data primitives — key areas that are gaining traction as the industry moves toward scalable and secure infrastructure in the next phase of digital asset adoption.

A Promise to Foster a Thriving Web3 Ecosystem: Strategic Partnerships & Investment

Auros embodies the role of a true partner, offering far more than liquidity provision. The firm commits significant resources and expertise to its clients,delivering unparalleled support. From supporting new product iterations to supplying liquidity in emerging markets, and leveraging its advanced technology and capital to bootstrap protocol growth, Auros seamlessly integrates strategic collaboration into every partnership. This hands-on approach underscores its dedication to fostering long-term success and strengthening the foundations of its clients’ ventures.

Partnerships from the year include:

• Streamlining ATH Token Transactions: How Aethir Leverages Auros’ Trading Expertise:
  Aethir, a leader in enterprise-grade GPUs-as-a-service, has partnered with Auros to bring unprecedented transparency and efficiency to ATH token transactions within its decentralised cloud computing infrastructure. With $36 million in annual recurring revenue from enterprise clients, Aethir leverages Auros’ algorithmic trading expertise to streamline the conversion of revenue into ATH tokens, ensuring optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness in token purchases. By supporting the onboarding of major enterprises in AI, gaming, and telecommunications, Auros’ advanced trading strategies underpin Aethir’s ability to deliver decentralised cloud solutions at scale, empowering innovation across industries while solidifying Auros’ role as a trusted partner in driving ecosystem growth.
  
• Auros Partners with Pyth Network to Deliver High Frequency Onchain Data:
  Pyth Network partnered with Auros to elevate the standard for real-time, high-frequency financial data in its digital asset ecosystem. Leveraging its expertise in algorithmic trading and market making, Auros provides Pyth with high-fidelity cryptocurrency pricing data sourced from its advanced high-frequency trading systems. This data integration enhances Pyth’s capacity to deliver accurate, aggregated pricing data across blockchain protocols, supporting the network’s mission to bring institutional-grade trading activity on-chain.
  
• Strengthening Solana’s DeFi Ecosystem: Auros Partners with 21BTC for Enhanced Liquidity:
  We remain committed to delivering on our promise to make markets liquid and easy to trade. Excited about the prospects of Solana leading the next wave of DeFi, we are proud to announce our partnership as a liquidity provider for 21BTC. This collaboration expands the 21BTC-jitoSOL trading pair on Raydium through a Kamino liquidity vault. Auros will continue to support the growth of new BTC wrappers on Solana.
  
• Auros leverages its Liquidity and Trading Solutions across the Sui ecosytem
  Auros is pleased to be active across the growing Sui ecosystem, recognising its potential to drive innovation in decentralised finance. This reflects our commitment to providing seamless trading experiences and robust liquidity solutions, positioning us as a key player in the evolving landscape of decentralized markets. We look forward to further trading across the Sui ecosystem as we continue to see exciting developments and strong growth of its vibrant community.

Throughout 2024, Auros forged strategic partnerships as a liquidity provider while Auros Ventures debuted as an investor and trusted advisor for early-stage crypto projects. Since its inception, Auros Ventures has delivered on its promise to be an investor and partner to 20 early-stage projects across various Web3 verticals. These projects included Echo Protocol, Beam, Vana, Pyth, Berachain, Squid, Testmachine, SuperProtocol, GTE, Bera ecosystem, Rho Protocol.

Defining the Narrative: Auros Illuminates Crypto’s Complex Landscape

In 2024, Auros cemented its position as a leading voice in the crypto industry, leveraging strategic media engagements to shape market narratives and drive conversations around critical industry trends. These efforts underscored Auros’ role as a trusted authority, influencing stakeholders and navigating the evolving digital asset landscape.

Media highlights from the year include:

• Bloomberg: As Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs struggle to make a splash, facing stiff competition from the U.S. and grappling with investor caution fueled by murky regulatory waters, Le Shi, Auros’ Managing Director for Hong Kong, noted that these products faced delays due to US market dominance and the broader regulatory environment, which has caused investors to tread carefully.
  
• Decrypt: Bitcoin’s unprecedented surge beyond $90,000 marks a renewed wave of optimism, fueled by the resolution of U.S. election uncertainty and promising macroeconomic signals. Julien Auchecorne, Head of Auros Ventures, noted that the removal of political overhang has paved the way for a more sustainable rally, bolstered by growing institutional interest and robust retail participation driving Bitcoin’s continued momentum.
  
• AsianInvestor: Bitcoin’s ascent toward the $100,000 milestone has been driven by pivotal regulatory advancements, increasing institutional adoption, and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Julien highlighted Bitcoin’s evolving role as a reserve asset and the growing acceptance of digital assets, emphasising these developments as key inflection points reshaping digital assets’ trajectory into uncharted territory.

Driving industry discourse through thought leadership to build a resilient ecosystem

In line with the mission to foster ecosystem growth and encourage dialogue about market making, Auros spent a week in Singapore at TOKEN2049 Singapore as a Platinum Sponsor and at Solana Breakpoint as a Headline Sponsor. Auros also co-hosted over 750 attendees at a signature event alongside Decrypt, The Arbitrum Foundation, IVC, and Aethir, attracting some of the industry’s most established innovators.

Ben highlighted the evolving dynamics of the crypto market, emphasising the need for innovation in leverage and lending solutions to enhance liquidity efficiency. He noted the current capital flow’s concentration around Bitcoin, driven by its strong narrative. At the same time, broader market adoption hinges on revitalising lending markets and fostering institutional engagement beyond packaged crypto products.

Jason took the stage as a moderator for a panel on rebuilding market structures for the next crypto cycle, emphasising the importance of learning from past downturns to avoid recurring pitfalls. He steered discussions on key topics, including the transition from secured to unsecured credit, strategies for identifying future winners in the market, and the potential catalysts for the next bull run.

• Amid heightened interest in rebuilding trust and resilience within the crypto ecosystem, Auros solidified its position as a trusted thought leader in 2024. In September, the firm took center stage at TOKEN2049 Singapore, the world’s largest crypto event, as Platinum Sponsors. Co-Founder and CIO Ben Roth and Chief Commercial Officer Jason Atkins shared their perspectives on the institutional impact shaping the crypto industry’s dynamics and outlined market structure principles critical for navigating the next crypto cycle.
  
• During the same week, Auros deepened its commitment to the Solana ecosystem as a Headline Sponsor at Solana Breakpoint. The firm’s active participation underscored its role as an industry steward, driving innovation and supporting one of the most vibrant and rapidly evolving blockchain communities.
• With the release of the first two chapters of The State of Market Making, Auros’ commissioned report with The Block, Auros continued to drive thought leadership on liquidity and market structure in digital assets — topics at the heart of industry conversations in 2024. These initiatives, paired with strategic partnerships across Web3’s most promising projects, position Auros to set new industry standards as it enters 2025, ready to navigate complexity and shape the future of the ecosystem.

The State of Market Making Report: The Big Launch Moment

In 2025, Auros will unveil the first two chapters of its State of Market Making report, offering a deep dive into the evolving dynamics of liquidity provision and market structure within the digital assets ecosystem. This landmark report captures over a decade of expertise and proprietary insights, positioning Auros as a market leader.

With this report, Auros will bridge knowledge gaps and set a higher standard for thought leadership in digital asset trading. Future chapters will delve even deeper into the complexities of market structure, ensuring the State of Market Making becomes an indispensable resource for the industry.

Looking Ahead: Navigating 2025 with Resilience and Strategic Vision

As the crypto ecosystem braces for a pivotal year in 2025, Auros leverages its expertise in market-making and algorithmic trading to anticipate and adapt to key macroeconomic and market developments. The firm expects the following trends to shape the industry:

Macro – All eyes on the global regulatory regime shift

• In 2024, we saw a significant inflow of money following the approval of ETFs in the United States. Since the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, there has been a substantial capital inflow into these financial instruments, with cumulative net inflows reaching approximately $38 billion in their first year.
  
• After the 2024 U.S. presidential election, expectations regarding regulators’ acceptance of cryptocurrency have risen even higher. In 2025, there is optimism about a better regulatory environment spreading globally from the U.S. This could lead to a continuous and substantial inflow of institutional money from traditional finance players, as well as retail investment inflows from emerging markets such as India.
  
• We expect the market to remain optimistic; however, any signs of a change in expectations regarding the upcoming pro-crypto environment could significantly impact the market.

The fate of the market is still in the hands of the Fed

• Through periods of decoupling between the NQ/ES and BTC in 2024, the correlation between traditional financial risk assets and digital currency remains strong. This means we still need to closely monitor the Fed’s actions and data prints that could influence their decisions.
  
• Interest rates are creeping up, with 5-year rates trading over 4.5% (the highest since July) and 30-year rates trading around 5% (the highest since November 2023).
  
• The last NFP print significantly exceeded market expectations, and the market is anticipating further delays in the Fed’s plans for rate cuts.
  
• While we cannot predict much since it all depends on the data prints, the Trump administration’s anticipated tariff increases from day one suggest that the market will likely be prepared to err on the side of caution.

Market making space – Gone are the days of expensive listings, new listing landscape

• As DEXes continue to grow in popularity and familiarity among users, we anticipate more DEX-led listings going forward, where projects are not subjected to exorbitant fees or required to part with a significant chunk of their token supply. For example, recent listings on Hyperliquid have been auctioned off for amounts ranging from around $300,000 to as high as $975,000.

• The emergence of “MM Brokers” will continue, and we’ve seen several sprouting up in 2024. We expect the MM space to become more competitive, which should help narrow the information gap between token issuers/projects and sophisticated market makers.

Entering 2025, Auros remains committed to driving market integrity, shaping liquidity standards, and enabling the next phase of growth in digital assets. By combining advanced technology, disciplined trading strategies, and a steadfast focus on ecosystem stewardship, the firm is poised to navigate the complexities of the year ahead and deliver value to its partners and the broader crypto market.