What is a liquidity bridge?
A liquidity bridge is software that connects a broker's liquidity providers to its trading platforms. It brings every LP's prices in, turns them into one clean price per symbol with your spreads, and sends that price to MetaTrader, web and FIX clients.
How a liquidity bridge works
Each LP and each platform speaks its own protocol and names symbols its own way. The bridge sits in the middle so neither side has to change.
- 01
Connect each LP
The bridge keeps a session open to every liquidity provider, usually over FIX 4.4 or TCP, with its own heartbeat and reconnect.
- 02
Normalise symbols
One LP sends EUR/USD, another EURUSD.x. The bridge maps every name to one internal list so prices land on the right symbol.
- 03
Choose the price
Per symbol it takes one LP, the best bid and ask across LPs, or a priority order that fails over when a feed goes quiet.
- 04
Apply your pricing
Markups, minimum and maximum spreads and trading hours turn the raw price into the price your clients see.
- 05
Send it to every platform
MetaTrader 4 and 5, web terminals and FIX clients each get their own symbol names and spreads.
Bridge, liquidity provider, aggregator or MT5 Gateway?
The words get used loosely, and vendors often sell more than one of them together. This is what each one does.
Liquidity provider
A bank, prime of prime or exchange that quotes prices and fills orders. It is where liquidity comes from, not the software that moves it.
Liquidity aggregator
Combines quotes for the same instrument from several LPs into one book or one best price. Many bridges, XiroLink included, aggregate as part of the job.
Liquidity bridge
Connects LPs to trading platforms, translates between protocols and symbol names, and applies your pricing rules. Some bridges also route orders.
MT5 Gateway
MetaQuotes' interface for connecting MetaTrader 5 to outside price feeds and execution. Bridges and datafeeds plug into MT5 through it.
More terms in the liquidity bridge glossary.
The two halves of a bridge
A bridge can do two jobs: distribute prices, and route client orders to LPs for execution. XiroLink does the first. It does not route orders, so trades stay with your platform and the execution setup you already have.
A-book
Client trades are passed on to LPs. The broker earns from markup or commission and carries little market risk.
B-book
The broker keeps client trades in house and takes the other side, carrying the market risk itself.
Hybrid
Most brokers mix the two, passing some flow on and keeping the rest, by client, group, size or symbol.
Whichever model you run, XiroLink risk accounts keep books for your coverage accounts at each LP and for your house book, with live P&L and exposure per symbol.
Who uses a liquidity bridge
Any firm that prices clients from more than one source, on more than one platform, or with its own spreads.
Forex and CFD brokers
Several LPs behind one clean price, with spreads per client group on MT4, MT5 and FIX.
Read moreProp firms
Steady, realistic prices on challenge servers, with alerts the moment a feed goes stale.
Read moreCrypto and multi-asset brokers
Forex, metals and crypto in one feed, from your own LPs or built-in market data.
Read moreGroups with several brands
One LP connection shared across brands and servers, each with its own spreads.
Read moreHow to choose a liquidity bridge
Six things that separate bridge vendors, and that are hard to change once you are live.
Pricing model
A flat monthly fee, a fee on traded volume, or both. Volume fees grow with your flow.
Protocols
FIX 4.4 and TCP for LPs, plus FIX, TCP or WebSocket for your own clients and tools.
Platforms
Native MetaTrader 4 and 5 datafeeds, and whatever web or FIX platforms you run next to them.
Aggregation and failover
Best price, a single LP or a priority order, chosen per symbol, and what happens when a feed stops.
Monitoring
Whether you hear about a stale feed from the bridge, or from your clients.
Hosting and security
Your own server and fixed IP for LP whitelisting, two-factor sign-in and an audit log of every change.
How XiroLink does it
A liquidity bridge for brokers, hosted on your own server with a fixed IP. Flat monthly pricing, no volume fees.
Makers and takers
Connect LPs and platforms over FIX, TCP, WebSocket and Massive, from your own fixed IP.
Learn morePrice engine
Aggregate several LPs into one clean feed, with failover, stale price alerts and a live price path.
Learn moreSymbol mapping
One universal symbol list, filled from a built-in library in one click.
Learn moreMarkups
Spread profiles per platform, with one-click multipliers and spread limits.
Learn moreMonitoring and alerts
A dashboard that shows what needs you, and alerts where your team works.
Learn moreSecurity and operations
Your own server and fixed IP, two-factor sign-in, audit trail and backups.
Learn moreLiquidity bridge questions
What is a liquidity bridge?
A liquidity bridge is software that connects a broker's liquidity providers to its trading platforms. It keeps a session open to each LP, maps symbol names, chooses or combines prices, applies the broker's markups and sends the result to MetaTrader, web and FIX platforms. Some bridges also route client orders to LPs.
Is a liquidity bridge the same as a liquidity provider?
No. The liquidity provider quotes prices and fills orders. The bridge is the software between the LP and your platforms that connects them and applies your pricing rules.
Do I need a bridge if I only have one LP?
Not always. If one LP connects straight into one platform and you use its prices as they are, you may not. A bridge earns its place when you want several LPs, several platforms, your own spreads per client group, your own symbol names, or failover when a feed goes quiet.
Does XiroLink route orders?
No. XiroLink handles the price side: connecting LPs, aggregation, symbol mapping, markups, synthetic instruments and delivery to your platforms. Trades stay with your platform and your existing execution setup, and risk accounts keep books for your coverage accounts and house book.
How much does a liquidity bridge cost?
Vendors charge a monthly fee, a fee on traded volume, or both. XiroLink is a flat monthly fee: Standard $799, Professional $1,499 and Enterprise $2,499, with no volume fees. Extra LPs and modules are $200 a month each.
Does XiroLink work with MT4 and MT5?
Yes. MetaTrader 4 and 5 connect through XiroLink datafeed plugins, and the MT5 datafeed runs inside your History Server. Each server gets its own symbol names and markups.
See XiroLink on your own feed
We connect a demo bridge to simulated or real LP prices and walk you through it, then set up your own with you.