The ongoing cryptocurrency rally is the first bull market when we discuss market-making openly. Its role in the global cryptocurrency market is surging year by year together with market maturation and inflow of new liquidity.

As such, the right moment has come to delve deep into the trends and insights of the market-making segment in digital assets. Being in the cryptocurrency business since 2017, Filipp Veselov, the CEO of segment heavyweight CLS Global, is ready to walk us through the challenges, prospects and opportunities of market-making in 2024. CLS Global is backing 10% of CoinMarketCap’s top 200, which makes it one of the most influential actors in this sphere.

We sat down with Veselov to deobfuscate the thriving scene of market-making services, the accomplishments of CLS Global and its ambitions for the next crypto rally. Also, he indicated who the key client for market-making right now is and what the secret sauce behind building successful global business in the “Wild West” of Web3 is.

And, of course, we have no chance to avoid addressing the elephant in the room — we talked about Bitcoin ETFs as well! Also, Filipp shared his opinion about the hottest trends in the blockchain sphere like DePIN, Bitcoin’s L2s, meme coins and institutional adoption of cryptocurrency services and assets.

U.Today: Hi Filipp, thank you for coming. Please briefly introduce yourself, covering your Web3 and trading tracks and CLS Global basics.

Filipp Veselov: My name is FilippVeselov, and I'm the 31-year-old CEO of CLS Global. At CLS Global, we have been operating in the crypto market for more than five years, with an impressive portfolio of 500+ active clients. We are present on 80+ centralized exchanges and support over 10 decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

U.Today: Tell us a little bit about CLS Global: How do you understand your mission in market-making?

Filipp Veselov: Our goal at CLS Global is to become the #1 trading service provider in the crypto industry. Our mission is to identify and unlock the opportunities created by crypto capital markets for entrepreneurs and enterprises.

Source: CLS Global

We help digital asset projects at all stages, consistently delivering results since 2017, as reflected in the success of our clients.

U.Today: What are the differences between market-making in bear and bull phases?

Filipp Veselov: Market-making strategies differ in bull and bear phases due to varying liquidity, risk and market sentiment.

In bull markets, higher liquidity and lower risk allow for tighter spreads and more aggressive positioning.

In bear markets, lower liquidity and higher risk necessitate wider spreads, cautious inventory management and more sophisticated hedging.

U.Today: What are the key achievements of CLS Global you can proudly share with us?

Filipp Veselov: CLS Global has successfully sustained operations through three bear markets, demonstrating resilience and stability, proudly manage over $1.5 billion in assets, work with 10% of the top 200 projects listed on CoinMarketCap, and our team collectively boasts more than 100 years of experience in the cryptocurrency and financial markets.

U.Today: What are the next points on the road map ahead for your team?

Filipp Veselov: Our road map ahead includes several key points. First of all, it is about solidifying our position as the #1 trading service provider in crypto and launching a dedicated trading provider service for the crypto industry.

Then, we will be laser-focused on expanding into investment and partnership consulting in crypto as well as on offering full legal setup services for non-crypto projects.

Last but not least, we are going to establish an investment bank focused on the crypto sector.

U.Today: Could you share with us your most important (or challenging) clients you recently interacted with?

Filipp Veselov: Oh, we have so many cases, valuable connections and interesting setups — so better if you ask for our consultation and we will outline cases based on your current situation, project type and goals.

U.Today: Please indicate the three-five most powerful trends in the crypto segment for 2024-2025.

Filipp Veselov: Regulations and further institutional adoption will drive significant capital from Web2 capital — the BTC ETF showed that, ETH ETF consolidates it. Memes just bring more and more new users, which later start to think more about crypto technologies.

DeFi and DePin are expected to bring more organized structures and products + merge with Web2 companies, while Bitcoin L2 will gain traction as an additional way to diversify “old money” capital from whales who bought back in 2017 and earlier.

U.Today: Indicate three problems with modern market-making that your platform is going to address in the developing bull run.

Filipp Veselov: In a bull market, trading volume and the number of trading venues increase, leading to fragmented liquidity across multiple exchanges.

Moreover, bull markets often experience high volatility, making it difficult for market makers to manage risk and maintain tight spreads without incurring significant losses.

We have advanced algorithms and real-time analytics to dynamically adjust spreads and inventory based on market conditions. This helps to mitigate risk and maintain competitive pricing even during periods of high volatility.

In addition to that — a rapidly rising market, latency in order execution can lead to missed opportunities and slippage, which can be costly for both market makers and traders.

We leverage cutting-edge technology to ensure ultra-low latency and high-speed order execution.

U.Today: What about your team? Are they Web3 natives, or rather representatives of the “classic” trading scene?

Filipp Veselov: Our team at CLS Global is primarily comprised of Web3 and crypto natives. However, we also have representatives from the "classic" trading scene in key positions such as CTO, CFO and CLO, bringing valuable experience and expertise to the table.

U.Today: Which competitors look the most dangerous to you?

Filipp Veselov: We do not perceive any competitors as particularly dangerous to our operations.

U.Today: To sum up, please share your main advice to teams in crypto that are considering launching native tokens.

Filipp Veselov: My main advice to teams in crypto considering launching native tokens is to ensure that the demand for your tokens is consistently higher than the supply at any stage. This is a crucial factor for long-term success and sustainable growth.

U.Today: That was a great talk, Filipp, many thanks for coming! All the best in the next bull run!