iFX EXPO 2021: ActTrader CEO Ilya Sorokin Talks Artificial Intelligence in Trading, Crypto Boom

New York-based financial technology solutions provider ActTrader Technologies has made the headlines over the past few months. Most recently, it was acquired by India-based, Multi-disciplinary and Multi-national organisation Finvasia Group.

Mr Sorokin explained to Nikolai that the recent organizational developments came as ActTrader (formerly ActForex) envisaged a new mission with Finvasia Group to build the next generation of blockchain and AI-based trading applications. Other exciting initiatives are also in the pipeline, said the industry veteran.

More specifically, ActTrader is building a unique social trading platform, robust risk management and liquidity management solutions. On top of that, a variety of plug-ins and business intelligence tools, which ActTrader expects to challenge industry standards and extend the frontier of the fintech industry, have been in the works for a while.

Reflecting further on this point, Sorokin said they aim to roll out their social platform trading platform with built-in Artificial Intelligence functionality by the end of next year.

“Artificial intelligence has come a long way since its existence and is now a part of our everyday life. Today, the new trader comes to check the platform and sees a lot of charts and data, and has to understand market movers, use some technical analysis, and many other tasks. So market analysis can be a multidimensional task, but it can become less daunting with artificial intelligence. The technology helps gather unbiased information, data crunching and classification, and also helps with technical analysis and pattern recognition.”

Fortunately, artificial intelligence adoption in trading has marked a remarkable success. Whether it is forex, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, or any other asset class, AI-based trading is bringing a change to the way people invest, adds Sorokin.

On the B2B front, ActTrader wants to introduce artificial intelligence into risk management systems, so their clients can monitor multiple functions and better define different parameters no matter their end-users’ risk tolerance or trading style. 

“This AI-based model would allow addressing multiple needs of different customers from different regions. We hope to build some intelligence into that big business and introduce it in different aspects of the ActTrader ecosystem. Dealers can monitor exposure and manage risk from all instruments inside the application. Convenience is also a key aspect of this offering, and we try to make it uniquely different,” explains ActTrader CEO.

ActTrader has been a pioneer in building financial technology products for over two decades. As it happens, the company’s 20th anniversary coincided with the iFX Expo. Sorokin took a look back, and we were keen to get his take on recent developments and discover more about what it takes to secure a slice in the highly competitive industry.

“We came with the idea of creating a trading platform in 1998 when the retail forex industry was still in its infancy. Back then, there wasn’t retail forex trading as it was only an interbank market where trading was restricted to large financial institutions. It was the innovation made by pioneers like ActTrader that started the growth of retail trading. Interestingly, FXCM was our first customer and one of those that helped bring the forex market to the mainstream. Over the years, we have partnered with a multitude of brokers of all sizes with quite active presence in the United States and elsewhere.” 

ActTrader is, therefore, one of the first trading applications of its type. Its products revolutionized the industry and contributed to the growth of online trading as we know it today. For reference, the company has served almost over 2 million retail traders in over 100 countries, processed over $400 trillion in transaction volume, and acted as the core technology provider to some of the largest financial institutions in the world.

No one has anticipated the latest trading frenzy around the so-called ‘meme stocks’, which brought Wall Street whales to their knees. Nikolai asked Mr Sorokin if this phenomenon drew attention to new crowds, largely composed of first-time investors, as a whole new segment of potential clients.

ActTrader CEO said the by-effect of this phenomenon brought on a huge spike in interest in trading and introduced the world of investment opportunities to a whole new generation of traders. In other words, it has brought trading to the attention of a broader range of people, which is in fact, a positive for the brokerage industry. 

We moved to speak of the cryptocurrency wild rally, and the fear of missing out, which prompted casual traders to flock to crypto trading. Mr Sorokin provided us with a brief overview of what’s on offer with ActTrader for the crypto space. We have concluded the following findings:

• ActTrader offers turnkey crypto brokerage and exchange solutions with tight liquidity for hundreds of cryptocurrencies as well as a payment gateway for instant conversions 
• ActTrader enables brokers to offer cryptocurrency margin trading to their client base. From the end-user perspective, their advanced trading engine allows trading cryptos with leverage, amplifying retail traders’ gains and allowing them to use complex trading strategies.
• Merchants also can integrate ActTrader’s cryptocurrency payment systems to expand their business perspectives in the blooming digital asset space. 

“ActTrader supports the most secure and safe payment gateway for transactions in all major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Tether, and ERC20 tokens. Our platform enables the customers to convert their fiat currencies into cryptocurrency and vice versa within the platform in no time. We also offer fully responsive Crypto Merchant solutions integrated within the package to enable brokers to enter the B2B crypto space,” said Sorokin.

Trade on the go

Active FX traders like to have access to market news, quotes, charts, and trading accounts at their fingertips at all times. With more than 80% of traders using mobile apps to trade, offering advanced apps is the most basic requirement for today’s brokers. We asked Mr Sorokin about what ActTrader has to offer in this regard.

ActTrader CEO said their mobile-based trading solutions have been some of the highest-rated and most popular apps thanks to their ease of use and versatility. They also have a unique app for tablet devices, which provides up-to-the-minute market news and access to real-time price quotes. Available on iOS and Android devices, ActTrader apps offer users full control of their accounts, on the go, advanced charting capabilities, account summary, and other features available in the desktop version. 

Finally, Mr Sorokin spoke about how financial literacy has become extremely important these days and that having the right tools, resources, and knowledge about what’s going on in the market are more important than ever.