The Small Exchange

The Small Exchange

The Small Exchange was founded with the mission of making futures trading accessible to a broader retail audience. Its core product line consists of 'Small' futures contracts on equities, currencies, commodities, and interest rates, designed with smaller notional values than standard exchange-traded futures. The firm positions itself as an alternative to traditional futures exchanges, which it argues have products too large or complex for individual traders. Strategy & deployment: The Small Exchange offers cash-settled futures on benchmarks including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Euro FX, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, and 10-Year Treasuries — named asset classes spanning equity indices, currencies, commodities, and fixed income (public record). The exchange operates as a designated contract market (DCM) regulated by the CFTC. Contract sizes are typically one-tenth the size of standard CME products, with the S&P 500 contract representing $250 times the index value, versus $500 for e-minis. The exchange structures its products for retail margin efficiency and simplicity, with no expiration day settlement surprises per the firm's marketing materials. Scale, team, adjacent vehicles: The firm maintains offices in Boston, San Francisco, Plantation, and Chicago, United States. Team size and total capital raised or deployed are not publicly disclosed (public record). The exchange launched trading operations in 2019 after receiving CFTC designation (public record). As of 2022, trading volumes were reported by The Street as relatively low, with the firm focusing on user growth and market-maker liquidity programs. A key operational event from the last 24 months: October 2022: The exchange introduced inter-commodity spreads and extended trading hours to attract a larger volume of retail and institutional flow (per The Street, October 2022). The firm has no publicly disclosed philanthropic foundation or advisory affiliates. Structural differentiator: The Small Exchange's structural differentiator is its regulatory status as a wholly owned DCM, not a broker or trading platform — it operates the exchange infrastructure directly. This allows it to set contract specifications, fees, and listing rules independently of the CME Group or ICE. The firm's mandate is to create a single-venue, retail-friendly ecosystem for futures trading, contrasting with the multi-platform complexity of the traditional derivatives market.