Interview: FinSafe CEO Victor Murga, Reveals the Challenges and Opportunities of Working in Crypto Trading

Whales control the crypto market. And unfortunately, there’s no way for trading companies to make decent profits out of trading activities because the market can be wildly unpredictable, is fragmented and easily manipulated. In the past year, we have seen how Bitcoin surged to unbelievably high rates, and then declined by 72% even faster, leaving thousands of investors and traders bankrupt and shocked.

A lack of transparency across exchanges creates a situation where pumping and dumping is commonplace. Such speculative activity creates volatility, but of the wrong kind, especially for those who want to trade crypto professionally. This is due to the fragmented nature of the crypto market and the lack of professional tools available for traders that would help stem the flow of speculative activity.

Until now, professional stock traders and FX traders from around the world have not been able to easily enter the cryptocurrency market, due to the lack of professional trading software that can be put to use. This means that professional traders aren’t willing to risk their money on a market that is easily manipulated by pumpers and dumpers.

However, CEO of FinSafe, Victor Murga and his team, is primed to change that, providing the first software solution that will allow traditional players to trade on cryptocurrency markets professionally and effectively, which they hope will lead to a relative stabilization in the crypto market, while still offering the volatility that makes the promise of crypto so exciting.

CV: FinSafe says that it offers a new solution for crypto trading. Why is that necessary?

VM: We like to say that we combine the promise of crypto with the power of finance. Like everyone else, we’re tired of seeing the crypto market manipulated by speculators and the difficulty smaller traders have in making a profit.

We see how much promise there could be if the right techniques and tools, similar to those used by pro traders, were put in place. Right now, professional traders don’t have the kind of software that combines all the necessary tools to keep track of the crypto market, to get direct access to the biggest exchanges, and do post-trading analytics. It’s for this reason that whales rule the crypto market.

The combination of a fragmented market and their raw buying and selling power means that speculation is rampant in the crypto world. Pro traders rely on information to make decisions, and the lack of easily accessible information portal for the crypto market means that traders are always at a disadvantage, having no possibility to access all relevant information at once.

CV: Why hasn’t such a change happened till now? Is it an issue of trading tools being unavailable or a lack of will from the community to develop such a solution?

VM: I’ll make one step back and explain the existing problem of the cryptocurrency market, and slowly move to the solution that we will be implementing. In unregulated financial markets, raw trading power is what creates success, because speculators can move money quickly, leaving unsuspecting traders in their wake. In more regulated and transparent financial markets, information and smart decisions create success and traders are able to track activity more quickly and react to it.

What would tip the balance in the favor of traders is the right set of tools and information. Right now, on the crypto market, the tools just aren’t there for traders to make informed, smart decisions, accompanied with lack of market transparency.

Currently, if you want to trade on the crypto market you have to keep track of many moving parts, as there is no all-in-one platform that allows you to trade easily. These days, crypto traders work across multiple different services, with multiple different orders, making the analysis of the market and potential trades very difficult. This is compounded by the need to keep different charts in full view while analyzing the price movement using third-party analytics tools. Then you need to keep track of your trading record in one place. This means that you can easily miss a step or key piece of information and therefore lose a lot of money. It also makes this slow-paced and not as effective as it could be. On top of that, you will be forced to trade across exchanges, finding the highest liquidity levels and the best entry or exit price.

None of this is ideal. There’s a lack of transparency in the crypto market which allows a speculative activity to flourish. We believe that with the right tools, we can not only create the conditions where more professional trading can take place, but the threat of speculative activity will be lessened due to greater transparency and information availability.

CV: This all sounds nice, but will the solution actually achieve such an outcome and influence an entire industry?

VM: First, for traders. Currently, there’s no solution on the crypto market that could combine together trading charts, indicators, consolidated order books, smart order routing, market sorters, real-time industry newsfeed, multi-screen (monitor) fully customizable layouts, and fast order execution. The trader will do their job staring only at the screen in front of them. They will be working in such an environment where the system will provide relevant news, analytics, and key data, reducing the need for a trader to scour the internet for more sources. The trader will have just one piece of software that will replace everything else.

Second, we know that creating such software needs to be connected directly with the main exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase Pro, Huobi, HitBTC, Poloniex, Kraken, and Bitstamp, so that buying and selling activity can be more easily visualized, so traders can react if whales make a run on the market. Crypto has a reputation for being opaque, so we believe that a platform that details all of the activity on the market will help it to become more solid and credible in traditional traders’ eyes.

CV: Good. Please, tell me more in detail what exchanges you will be partnering with?

VM: As I said before, we’ll partner only with the biggest exchanges that are technologically advanced enough so we can make the integration of the APIs into our software a vice versa, so the trader could trade without the need to login anywhere. The same applies to funds management. Those exchanges are Binance, Bitfinex, Coinbase Pro, Huobi, HitBTC, Poloniex, Kraken, and Bitstamp.

CV: Could you please tell me more about cryptocurrency pairs that will be allowed to trade, what are they?

VM: The cryptocurrency pairs that will be traded are mainly those with the highest daily volumes and highest liquidity on a particular exchange. We’ll be providing access to the main cryptocurrency pairs available on the market.

CV: What are the main challenges that your company faces?

VM: Basically our main hurdle is an SEC license, as it is hard to acquire. Once we’ve secured that, we know that we will be ready for takeoff. The other licenses for the EU can be acquired with less difficulty. A workaround will be created for the Asian region and the rest of the world as well.

CV: Certainly, such a complex product means that you will need a strong development team. Is your team capable to develop such a complex product?

VM: As founders of IT company, ITadviser, we have access to a large pool of high-end developer talent that can augment FinSafe’s development at any stage. From the developer level to the executive level, all of our team is highly skilled and experienced in developing a range of complex tech solutions. Our tech-savvy pros have solid experience in developing and administering both front-end and back-end systems for active traders on the stock market. They have extensive knowledge in market data processing, high-frequency trading, advanced order types, post trading reporting, low latency exchange protocols, as well as the implementation of industry best-practices. We’re confident that Finsafe will be another one of our successful projects to add to our track record.

CV: What led you to this industry and became your inspiration?

VM: I have always tried to look for opportunities to do business, and once I stepped into the technology world, it gave me the space to think more about products that people need. Especially when we talk about the crypto market, there’s just so much untapped potential if it is done right! Not only will we have the chance to create a new trading frontier, but we will be able to democratize it too. Everyone will be able to be a crypto trader one day, not just the pros. This is why I was always inspired by technologies, as for me, they open the space to create something new.

CV: What about previous roles that you had? Did these experiences prepare you for starting businesses in the future?

VM: I have mostly worked in different IT companies in management. These companies specialize in the field of customized software R&D, ML and IT outsourcing. All of those experiences that I have acquired throughout the years have taught me how to build teams effectively, how to lead projects well, and most importantly, how to create success. With this experience behind me, I’m confident that the FinSafe project will really change the crypto world.