2024: Connamara Tech’s Year In Review

As Connamara Technologies looks back at 2024, we are grateful and humbled by a year of truly remarkable achievements and continued growth for our EP3® matching engine and platform. Connamara Technologies was founded in 2022, and we are thrilled to share that last year was our best yet. We look forward to all that 2025 will bring to our trusted clients and partners. 

 In 2024, EP3 was the technology behind the only 2 approved US futures exchanges (DCMs). And, as of December 31, 2024, 60% of DCMs currently awaiting approval rely on EP3 for their exchange technology. These include exciting new markets for commodities and events contracts.

Here’s a look at some of the key milestones and moments that shaped our journey:

A Viral Moment: EP3® and ForecastEx on Election Night

This watershed moment for our matching engine and trading platform was a crowning achievement of our year back in November 2024. Working in concert with ForecastEx’s internal teams, Connamara Technologies’ engineers monitored systems around the clock, ready to respond to surges in trade volume with precision and expertise. The team’s commitment went beyond standard duty, ensuring unparalleled service during this first-in-a-lifetime historic trading event. 

Read the full story of this viral moment here: 

Transformative Partnerships

• BEE4 became Brazil’s first regulated tokenized stock market thanks to EP3 technology: BEE4, an over-the-counter (OTC) market for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and Brazil’s first authorized infrastructure to trade tokenized stocks saw the upgrade and re-launch of its tokenized stock market project, powered by EP3. Watch the case study video below, or read about how we leveraged our technology to support their long-term evolution.

• Zero Hash implements its digital asset platform, powered by EP3: In October, Connamara Technologies and Zero Hash announced that Zero Hash successfully implemented its digital asset platform, powered by the proprietary EP3® matching engine. EP3’s flexibility allows Zero Hash to explore new use cases, further solidifying its position as the leading infrastructure provider for start-ups, enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies, powering a diverse range of use cases: cross-border payments, commerce, trading, remittance, payroll, tokenization, wallets and on and off-ramps. Read the full press release here. 

• Google Cloud Partnership: In May, Connamara Technologies announced that it joined Google Cloud at the partner level for the Build engagement model. This gives Google Cloud customers the ability to create financial exchanges and other exchange technology solutions that are built with and run on Google Cloud. Read about key features here.

Industry Engagements

• Conferences, Panels, and Sponsorships: In 2024, Connamara Technologies was seen at dozens of conferences around the world. Top highlights included:
  • Sponsoring the Pickleball Clinic at FIA BOCA at The Boca Raton.
  • Co-Founder James Downs speaking on the “How to Leverage Technology to Enhance Environmental Markets” panel at the Environmental Markets Association Annual Meeting
  • Co-Founder James Downs speaking at Amazon Web Services HQ in NYC on the “Trading in the Cloud” panel at a semi-private event, titled, “Modernizing the Trade Lifecycle” 
  • Attending Consensus 2024 in Austin, where we got to see Mike Cagney (of Figure Markets, an EP3 customer) speak on “The Exchange of Everything.”

Media Appearances and Webinars:

• Our founders, James and Maureen Downs, collaborated with The Association of Futures Markets (AFM) and market intelligence firm Acuiti to lead an on-demand webinar titled “Building the Future of Exchanges: How Technology Enables Growth.” Watch the full free webinar here.
• Our founders also appeared on the Exchange Invest IPO-VID Livestream to speak with Patrick L. Young on an episode titled “The Future of Exchange Matching Engines.”

• Maureen Downs also got to share a bit of exchange history on the SmarterMarkets podcast. See the video here.

• Award Nominations: Our EP3 matching engine was nominated for three awards this year. We were honored to attend all of these award ceremonies in-person and connect face-to-face with our fellow nominees and leaders in exchange technology.
  • Disruptor of the Year 2024 at the U.S. FinTech Awards
  • Best Matching Engine at the 2024 Benzinga FinTech Deal Day Awards
  • Best Matching Engine for Exchanges and Electronic Trading Venues at the 2024 TradingTech Insight Awards USA

New Features and Functionality for EP3

2024 was a year of significant upgrades for EP3, with enhancements focused on user experience, efficiency, and adaptability to meet the dynamic needs of the market. We made nearly a dozen upgrades to future-proof and enhance our product. Find out more details here.

Thought Leadership

• Acuiti Study: Connamara Technologies sponsored market intelligence firm, Acuiti’s whitepaper report on Building Competitive Technology for Exchanges of the Future. This study was shared around the industry in trade papers like Waters and TabbForum, JLN News and more. The fascinating findings, which surveyed and interviewed 58 senior executives at derivatives exchanges from around the world, can be downloaded here.

• The Ultimate Guide: Our team self-published The Ultimate Guide to Exchange Technology, which is a quick and easy explainer on the elements of comprehensive exchange infrastructure, tips for accelerating the launch of your exchange, crucial questions to ask a potential infrastructure partner and what to expect during the exchange design and build process. Download our free e-booklet here.