Benzinga, a media and data provider bridging the gap between retail and institutional investors, will be bringing back its annual Global Fintech Awards event to New York City on Dec. 8.
Ahead of this recognition of disruptive innovators in finance and technology, Benzinga will periodically publish articles on those brands that it thinks are making a measurable impact.
Today’s conversation is with Quantfury founder Lev Mazur and Quantfury Trading CEO Ali Pourdad, a platform that enables the trading of traditional and crypto-assets at their real-time exchange prices with zero fees.
Unmatched Conditions: At its core, Quantfury is a multinational brokerage headquartered in the Bahamas.
Mazur, who was working in traditional financial markets – mutual funds, family offices, and banks – for over 30 years, grew frustrated with existing solutions pandering to their users’ emotions and desire for financial riches in unprincipled ways.
“Quantfury stands against the greed and idiocracy happening in this world, today,” Mazur said. “We’re pitching users a lifestyle product that’s real and honest, rather than this [fake] idea that users will become multi-billionaires.”
Core to the firm’s portfolio are derivatives, and unique is their collection of trading data that assists in verifying volumes and prices.
“Retail traders, outside of the U.S., do not enjoy good trading conditions,” Pourdad weighed in. “Lev has been in the industry for years, and he’s started this company to bring good information and execution to the worldwide audience in over 65 countries.”
The Business Model: Though Quantfury has only been around since 2017, the firm sees about $15 billion in monthly trading volume.
“We provide the best possible conditions, so users will lose less,” Mazur said on the firm’s no fee trading model that makes money on the bid-ask spread, and trades based on the data collected from user activities.
“Imagine Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) and Citadel under one roof. That’s us.”
What Are CFDs: Contracts for differences (CFDs) enable users to participate in the up and downside of an asset’s movements. The contracts are settled to cash, not the underlying asset, and, usually, require a fraction of the notional, or margin, to be set aside for trading.
For instance, if an investor buys into a CFD tracking the price of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), their position will appreciate if the underlying stock rises. On the other hand, if Apple falls, the contract owner’s position will fall in value.
“We are the counterparty since we deliver that profit or loss,” Mazur said in response to a chat on the risks that exist with trading derivatives like CFDs. Quantfury will, itself, invest in Apple shares. If those shares rise, that will offset the losses in the CFDs that Quantfury is on the opposing end of (or short).
Additionally, Mazur explains there is little risk and that, often, trades are matched between customers as markets are split “50/50 or 60/40” between those who are long or short biased.
Profiting From Flow: "Citadel will take the flow and analyze it. We do the same thing, including the sentiment," Mazur says.
“If users are 99% long Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), we’re probably going to be short. If 56% of the market is long bitcoin but doesn’t take enough risk, we will actually be long with our user base, making money with them.”
That’s what helps Quantfury juice its returns. It’s rooted in the ability to analyze, and hedge, or partially hedge, client exposure, and participate in the expected up or downside of the market.
Eventually, Quantfury will allow its users to invest in these data-driven trade strategies, too.
"It’s like a hedge fund for the masses. We use and monetize data [through] trading strategies people will be able to invest in, globally," Mazur said.
Content And Community: Users have the ability to publish their thoughts about the market to Quantfury’s community, and get paid for doing so.
That’s part and parcel of Mazur’s strategy to bolster engagement in markets through community, as well as education and quality insights.
“The Daily Gazette is something we can use to entertain our user base, bring in different news and traders, and make our users shine and not engage in naive and irresponsible activities.”
Visions For The Future: “We’re not comparing ourselves to other trading apps,” Pourdad said. “We’re looking, long-term, at changing how people think about the markets and trading.”
Nearly 150 strong, the Quantfury team is working hard at product improvements like its hedge fund for the masses, as well as customer support, something many competitors lack.
“We have 40 or so people in support,” Mazur explained. “They’re talking different languages,” all the while, program developers are taking feedback and keeping “products self-sufficient.”
At the end of the day, Mazur stresses that Quantfury is a product for people striving to grow and maintain their wealth.
"We’re not going to donate all the money we made to charity. But, we’re going to make a lot of money for our users."
