Trading volume on ITS reaches record $0.67 bln in January
Trading volume of stocks and depositary receipts on the international platform ITS surged to a record $670 million in January, 7.3 times higher than the $91 million recorded in the previous month.
The increase in trading activity on ITS was driven by a growing number of investors joining the platform and an expanding range of available instruments. A significant boost to trading volume came from strong market interest in new instruments, particularly ETFs linked to ITS’s own indexes.
Another factor contributing to the rise in trading volume was increased volatility in global financial markets. By the end of January, the flagship ITS World index had risen by 3.8%, while the ITS Shariah index, which includes shares of 30 leading companies that comply with Shariah principles, gained 0.3%.
“We are seeing steady growth in the number of ITS market participants, with new traders and investors joining from Kazakhstan and beyond. Investors appreciate the opportunity to trade foreign securities and ETFs, and with the development and launch of new trading instruments this year, trading volumes are expected to continue growing,” said ITS CEO Chingiz Kanapyanov.
Liquidity on ITS is not dependent on trading volumes, as it is supported by market makers, the best execution principle and smart order routing technology.
Trading in the first ETF in Central Asia and the Caucasus linked to ITS’s own ITS World index (ticker: ITSW) began in November 2024, providing a convenient and balanced investment and trading tool with a low entry threshold. In January 2025, the ITS multi-asset trading platform expanded its ETF lineup with the launch of a fund based on the ITS Shariah index (ticker: ITSS).
“Investors are drawn to the regulatory framework of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), a wide range of investment strategies, liquidity at a global market level and an almost 18-hour trading session,” Kanapyanov said.
In January, the top 10 most traded securities and ETFs on ITS by volume included NVIDIA Corporation (ticker: NVDA), Coinbase Global (COIN), Tesla (TSLA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares (TMF), Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL), ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ), Boeing (BA), MARA Holdings (MARA) and Micron Technology (MU).
By the end of January, investors on ITS had access to more than 2,850 stocks, depositary receipts and ETFs from the US, Europe and Asia, with primary listings on U.S. exchanges NYSE and NASDAQ.
About ITS
ITS is an international liquidity hub. Central to ITS's business model are the principles of best execution and smart order routing technology. These principles enable investors to execute securities transactions at the best prices available on the global financial market, regardless of the transaction volume. This technology ensures that the liquidity for foreign securities on ITS matches that of leading international platforms where these securities are traded.
ITS Central Securities Depository Limited, the central depository for ITS, offers depository services for the storage and settlement of securities. The depository has received Qualified Intermediary with primary withholding responsibility (WQI) status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Operating a clearing house that acts as a Central Counterparty, ITS assumes the counterparty role for all obligations of clearing participants and manages the clearing process for transactions on the ITS trading platform.
ITS also calculates its own indexes: the ITS World index (ITSW) and the ITS Shariah index (ITSS).
ITS's direct clients include professional securities market participants from Kazakhstan and other countries, such as financial intermediaries who are accredited and directly registered at the AIFC. Investors, both private individuals and legal entities, access trading through these financial intermediaries, such as brokers and banks.
ITS Press Service
pr@itsx.kz